WORCESTER, Mass. – Loyola University Maryland scored the first 12 points Saturday afternoon against College of the Holy Cross, and the margin was never closer than nine after the first six minutes during a 76-62 Patriot League win at the Hart Center to closet he regular-season for both teams.
Loyola will learn its Patriot League Championships fate later Saturday with the possibility of a home or road game in the cards.
Emmett Adair had the fifth game of 25-plus points during his freshman year, going 11 of 22 from the field to score 25 to go with seven rebounds.
Braeden Speed added 15 points, and
Tyson Commander scored a season-best 14 with grabbing six rebounds.
Troy Cicero Jr. led Loyola with a career-high eight rebounds.
Adair scored the first four points of the game in the paint, and then
Jordan Stiemke and Speed hit threes to put Loyola up 10. A Speed jumper in the paint made it 12-0 Greyhounds before Holy Cross would score.
An Adair three at 9:37 in the first half made it 26-7 Greyhounds, and Commander made it a 19-point lead again at 7:53.
The Greyhounds pushed the lead to 20 or more for the first time less than two minutes in the second half with a Commander three at 18:13, and it grew to 22, 66-44, with two
Sebastien Emenalo free throws at 9:20.
Holy Cross had a run in it, though, scoring the next 13 points to cut its deficit to nine, 66-57, with a DeAndre Williams transition jumper at 5:57.
The teams traded possessions without points, and Commander drew a foul on the next possession, converting two free throws to put the margin back in double digits. It would stay there for the remainder of the game, giving Loyola its second wire-to-wire win of the season.
Loyola held Holy Cross to 21 of 54 (38.9 percent) from the field, and the Greyhounds set a season-low with only three turnovers.
