KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Top-seeded Loyola (La.) used a 23-4 first-half scoring run and a stout defensive effort to seize its first NAIA national title since 1945 with a 71-56 victory over Talladega (Ala.) Tuesday evening in the 84th annual NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship game at Municipal Auditorium.
Zach Wrightsil led a contingent of four double-digit scorers for Loyola with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Myles Burns added a monster performance of 17 points, 17 boards and four steals to help power the Wolf Pack attack.
The Wolf Pack (37-1) showed their balance during the game’s critical run, as five different players scored during the outburst to help extend the lead to 19 points with just over three minutes to play in the opening half. Wrightsil, who broke Loyola’s single-season scoring record in the opening minutes of the contest, poured home eight of his 10 first-half points during the early run.
Talladega battled back to close the gap to five points in the second half, but the Wolf Pack answered with an 11-2 run to stretch its lead back to double digits. The Loyola defense took care of the rest, limiting the Tornadoes to 35.8-percent shooting for the game to secure the third NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship for the Southern States Athletic Conference.
Defense dominated the early stages of the contest, with the two offenses combining to misfire on their first five shots of the night, before a pair of Terry Smith Jr. buckets, followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Brandon Davis and Andrew Fava sparked a 10-4 Loyola run that handed the Wolf Pack an 11-6 advantage.
Talladega (32-6) responded by scoring seven of the next nine points to even the score at 13-13 with just over 12 minutes left in the half, thanks in large part to two Kamron Brice triples.
But Myles Burns triggered the key Wolf Pack run with a trey at the 11:42 mark, before Cameron Dumas tallied four straight points for Loyola to make it a seven-point game. Wrightsil followed suit with back-to-back buckets, and Davis sank another three to extend the margin into double digits. Wrightsil put an exclamation point on the spurt with a dunk, making it a 36-17 contest with 3:14 to play in the half.
Loyola’s defense played a starring role all night, as the Wolf Pack limited Talladega to 7-of-30 (0.233) shooting, including just 2-of-16 (0.125) from beyond the three-point arc, in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.
After the Wolf Pack scored eight of the first 12 points after the break, Loyola appeared poised to run away with the red banner. But the Tornadoes fought back, registering an 11-0 run fueled by eight straight points from Darryl Baker. The senior guard drilled three consecutive field-goal attempts--including two from distance—and Davion Thomas connected from long range at the 13:15 mark to pull Talladega to within 44-36.
The Tornadoes drew even closer on another Baker three—his fourth of the second half—that sliced the margin to just five points with 8:26 to play.
But Loyola would not be denied its second national title, as Jaylen Galloway tipped in a Wrightsil miss to initiate an 11-2 run. Davis connected on another three-point attempt, before Wrightsil and Burns joined forces to score six straight points for the Wolf Pack.
From there, the Tornadoes got no closer than 11 points, with Loyola extending its lead to as many as 19 points once again in the closing minute.
In addition to big performances from all-tourney honorees Wrightsil and Burns, the Wolf Pack received a lift from Davis, who added 13 points, and Smith, who chipped in with 11.
Loyola finished with a 47-32 advantage on the boards and a 34-18 edge in points in the paint. The Wolf Pack also forced 18 Talladega turnovers and limited the Tornadoes to just 9-of-27 (0.333) shooting from three-point range.
Baker led Talladega with a game-high 22 points and was joined on the all-tournament Team by teammate Jervay Green.
2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship All-Tournament Team:
Noah Schulte, Concordia (Neb.)
Cash Williams, William Jessup (Calif.)
Bryce Davis, Arizona Christian
Ryan Batte, Thomas More (Ky.)
Jake O’Neil, College of Idaho
Jalen Galloway, Loyola (La.)
Zach Wrightsil, Loyola (La.)
Myles Burns, Loyola (La.)
Jervay Green, Talladega (Ala.)
Darryl Baker, Talladega (Ala.)
Hustle Award:
Darryl Baker, Talladega (Ala.)
National Championship Coach of the Year:
Stacy Hollowell, Loyola (La.)
Chuck Taylor MVP Award:
Myles Burns, Loyola (La.)
Dr. James Naismith-Emil S. Liston Team Sportsmanship Award:
Ben Limback, Concordia (Neb.)
National Player of the Year:
Zach Wrightsil, Loyola (La.)
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