NEED TO KNOW: Life U 66, Loyola 69 

RECORDS: Life U 21-9, Loyola 13-17

MONTGOMERY, AL. –  The Life University's men's basketball Southern States Tournament run comes to an end on Friday as the Running Eagles fall against Loyola. 

Life U began the contest in a slump as the Wolfpack from Loyola burst through the gates to a 14-1 lead. The Running Eagles were struggling throughout the first half and could never catch up with the Wolfpack. Right before half time the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to end the first half down 33-29.

Life U had four players scoring double digits. The Eagles were led in scoring and rebounds by Nathan Presnell who added 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Dara Olonade added 12 points to the score board while grabbing five rebounds, alongside Devin Story and Joshua Ward added eleven and ten points respectively. 

The exhilarating semifinal matchup saw both teams shoot remarkably well with the Running Eagles finishing the night shooting over 52% from the field and hitting 35.3% from beyond the arc. 

The second half began with the Eagles taking the first points of the half in a comeback attempt. Once again the Eagles and the Wolfpack kept chasing points in an attempt to extend the lead and catch up, but the game stayed close. With seven minutes left there was only one point difference on the scoreboard and from there until the last second the teams kept it close.

After several subs towards the last seconds of the game to secure a win the Running Eagles fell short once the game ended 66-69 to the Wolfpack. The win for Loyola pushes the Wolfpack into the final round while the loss for Life U ends the Running Eagles tournament run. Unless the Running Eagles receive an at-large bid to the NAIA tournament, the final possession of the semifinal matchup concludes the 2023-24 campaign.