Talladega, Loyola survive and advance to Tuesday’s NAIA tourney final in Kansas City

Loyola New Orleans’ revenge was exactly two years in the making. But the wait was worth it.

The No. 1 overall seed Wolf Pack overpowered fellow No. 1 seed Arizona Christian 82-70 Monday night in the semifinals of the 84th NAIA men’s basketball tournament at Municipal Auditorium. Loyola’s 20th straight victory avenged a bitter loss to Arizona Christian in the second round of the 2019 tournament.

The Wolf Pack (36-1) advanced to Tuesday night’s all-Southern States Athletic Conference game against Talladega (Alabama), a 78-77 overtime winner over Thomas More (Kentucky) in Monday’s second semifinal between No. 2 seeds. Loyola won all three meetings with Talladega (32-5), including the conference tournament final.

Loyola will be aiming for its second national championship — and first since Franklin Roosevelt was president in 1945 — while Talladega will try to become the first Historic Black College and University to win the NAIA since Texas Southern in 1977.

But first, the Wolf Pack wanted to savor Monday’s win while recalling that 83-77 loss to Arizona Christian on March 22, 2019, when the Firestorm made an NAIA tournament-record 19 three-point shots in 34 attempts.

“Absolutely, absolutely, it was definitely in our head the whole time … as we prepared for this game,” said senior forward Zach Wrightsil, who led the Wolf Pack with 20 points, 16 coming in the second half.

“Man, this feels amazing — this hasn’t been done since the 1940s,” Wrightsil said, referring to Loyola’s 1945 championship and 1946 fourth-place finish. “So it’s an unbelievable accomplishment for us, it’s really special, and we have one more game to repeat history.”

Loyola, whose 35 wins don’t include exhibition victories over NCAA Division I schools University of New Orleans and McNeese State, took control of this one with a 13-2 run in the first half, a rally triggered by two unlikely players.

With Loyola leading 19-16, forward Jalen Galloway hit a three-pointer followed by back-to-back threes by guard Cameron Dumas. Galloway then sandwiched two baskets around an Arizona Christian score, and the Wolf Pack led 34-18, an advantage that would balloon to as many as 23 in the second half.

Galloway entered the game with a 6.6 scoring average and finished the night with 16 points and eight rebounds. Dumas, who averages 2.9, scored 12.

“It was an incredible performance by Jalen Galloway,” Wrightsil said. “He came in ready to play. He was an all-American (at College of Idaho). He came into our program, and we expected big things out of him. He started out slow, but he sped up toward the end of the season, and tonight, he showed up when it mattered the most.”

Loyola’s Myles Burns, with 16 points, moved into second-place all-time in school history with 1,837.

Loyola deployed a menacing 1-2-2 zone that frustrated Arizona Christian that turned 16 turnovers into 23 points and created 10 steals.

“People talk about systems,” said coach Stacy Hollowell, in his eighth season with Loyola. “We don’t really have a system. We kind of do what fits our guys best. Tonight, we threw some things against the wall to see what stuck, and what we started out with stuck. That’s why we jumped out early. Our guys brought energy and athleticism and length and did a nice job.”

Loyola’s reaching the finals is continuing a progression that began in 2019, when Arizona Christian beat the Wolf Pack in the second round. Loyola would have been the No. 6 seed in the final 32-team field in 2020, had the tournament not been canceled due to the pandemic, and reached the quarterfinals in 2021.

“That they beat us in 2019 was a little extra motivation,” said Hollowell. “We knew we were up against a good team. Whatever fuels our guys is great with me.”

“We were really disappointed that we didn’t finish the deal last year. We had some key injuries in the final eight game last year. Guys felt like we left something on the table, and we’re here for it.”

Arizona Christian, in its first NAIA semifinals, finished 31-5. The Firestorm was led by power forward Bryce Davis, who had 19 points and nine rebounds.

Talladega 78, Thomas More 77

Talladega guard Edwin Louis, the ball in his hand because starter Cam Potts had fouled out, hit two deep three-pointers in the final 1 minute, 15 seconds as the Tornados survived Thomas More’s comeback from a 16-point deficit.

After Louis’ second three-pointer made it 78-75 with 40 seconds remaining, the Saints’ Noah Pack drew his team to within 78-77 with two free throws. Thomas Moore regained possession for the final 24.5 seconds. Ryan Batte, who led the Saints with 33 points, missed a jumper, and teammate Noah Pack’s point-blank follow just before the horn rimmed out, ending Thomas More’s season at 30-5.

Louis was an unlikely hero considering he missed all six of his shots in Talladega’s first two games in Kansas City before he made six of seven shots on Monday for 15 points.

“I’ve been playing bad since we’ve been here,” Louis, a junior from Deerfield Beach, Florida. “Coach (Chris Wright) has been telling me I’ve got to be better. I’ve been taking big shots all year, so I was comfortable and just took them.

“This means a lot. I’ve been here three years, we all came in, coach recruited for this team to make it to the nationals, so we all know we’re supposed to be here. But the job is not done yet.”

For a tournament that once was dominated by HBCUs such as Tennessee State, Kentucky State and Grambling, reaching their first title game in nine appearances is meaningful to the Tornadoes.

“It’s very special,” said Wright. “The thing I love about coaching the most is being part of something that is bigger than yourself. And for a white guy, getting to coach an HBCU, and for them to believe in me four years ago is really special.

“We want to represent HBCUs in a very special way. And for us to be playing on the last Tuesday night of the year is unbelievable.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 10:59 PM.