Courtesy of LoyolaGreyhounds.com
BALTIMORE – Andre Walker scored a career-high 35 points, tied the Loyola University Maryland record for 3-pointers made in a game and crossed the 1,000-point plateau for his career Monday night as the Greyhounds led wire-to-wire and beat Patriot League-leading Boston University, 77-69, in Reitz Arena.
Walker made 9-of-12 threes in the game, tying the school record set Jan. 8, 2006, by Andre Collins against Marist College. His final three of the game came with 12-minutes, 29-seconds left in regulation and gave him an even 1,000 points in his career. He is the 35th player in school history to hit the milestone.
Cam Gregory and Jarred Jones both turned in double-doubles against the Terriers (10-8 overall, 5-1 Patriot League) who entered the game leading the conference standings.
Gregory posted 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, while Jones flirted with Loyola second-ever triple-double. He scored 14 and grabbed 10 rebounds while dishing out a career-best eight assists and coming up with four steals.
Defensively, Loyola held the Terriers to a season low 1-of-18 (5.6 percent) from 3-point range. They entered the game ranked second in the Patriot League in both 3-point percentage (36.4) and threes made per game (9.3). Boston University’s overall 39.7 percent mark from the field was its lowest in six conference games this year.
Loyola (9-8, 3-3) scored the game’s first four points before Cedric Hankerson made the Terriers’ only three of the game 1:30 into the contest, but Walker’s first three of the game pushed the Loyola lead to four, a margin it would stay at or above for the entire game.
Gregory and Walker combined for 12 of Loyola’s first 14 points with Gregory’s steal and emphatic fast-break dunk staking the Greyhounds to a 14-3 advantage before the first media timeout.
Threes on consecutive possession or Walker pushed the advantage to 20-5 at 14:18, but Boston University scored nine of the next 10 points to trim its deficit to seven, 21-14, on a putback layup by Justin Alston. A traditional 3-point play by Chancellor Barnard, however, put the Greyhounds back up by double digits, and they would lead 43-31 at halftime.
The Greyhounds continued their strong play early in the second half, and a midrange jumper by Jones gave Loyola a 57-37 lead with 14:19 to go in regulation.
Boston University whittled away at the lead, and a Kyle Foreman layup with 4:52 on the clock capped a 10-0 Terriers run, and it was 62-55 Greyhounds. Jones snapped the run with a short-corner jumper as the shot-clock expired, and after a missed Boston University three, Gregory converted two at the free-throw line to put the advantage back to 11.
Tyler Scanlon scored for the Terriers at 2:55, making it a nine-point Loyola lead, and a layup and free throw by Nick Havener with 43.9 ticks left turned it into a 69-65 game.
Walker made all six free throws from that point, and Jones added a pair, while the Greyhounds held off Boston University.
Eric Fanning led the Terriers with 27 points and 13 rebounds, while Havener came off the bench to contribute 15 and eight. Hankerson and Alston, however, entered the game averaging a combined 23.4 points, but they totaled just 11.
Walker’s 35 points are the third-most by a Patriot League player this season, and it tied him for 16th most in a single-game by a Loyola player. His nine threes are tied for ninth-most by an individual in NCAA Division I this year.
Loyola returns to action quickly when it heads to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, for a 7 p.m. game at Bucknell University on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
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