NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's basketball team continued Southern States Athletic Conference play traveling to Louisiana to battle Loyola on Thursday. The Firehawks escaped "The Big Easy" with an come-from-behind win 69-68.
UTS had two players score in double figures in the road win over the WolfPack. Mike Bell, Jr. led all scorers with 26 points. Mark Vance contributed 19 points shooting 58 percent from the floor.
The Firehawks opened the game on a 4-0 run in the first two minutes. With both squads tied at 10 each, Loyola took a lead that they would hold for the rest of the half. UTS trailed by as much as 15 late in the half, but jumpers by Vance and Eric Robinson shaved the lead to 13. UTS trailed 37-24 at the break. The Firehawks shot eight of 31 for 26 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
In the final half, LU kept the lead hovering around 10 for most of the half. A Jack Harper long-range bomb began a 19-6 run over the final five minutes that set up a chance for a win. With two seconds left and trailing by one, Vance would hit a jumper to hoist the Firehawks to their first lead since the first half. The 19-6 run was fueled by eight points from Bell Jr., four from Vance, three from Harper, and a pair each from Vito Vujuovic and Robinson. During the run, UTS shot 64 percent from the floor.
NEXT UP
The Firehawks will travel to Columbia, Ky., to battle the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson College on Dec. 2. Tipoff is slated for two pm.
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