NEW ORLEANS, La. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's basketball team suffered their second loss in a row for the first time this season in a 70-63 result with Loyola on Saturday. Kendall Wright led the Firehawks with 21 points and eight rebounds. Brady Brown added 14 points. UT Southern (23-4, 17-2) fell behind early trailing 13-3 in the opening four minutes. The Firehawks chipped away at the Loyola (8-17, 7-11) lead. LU led 33-29 at the break.

The shorthanded Firehawks began the second half down by eight in the early going. Loyola expanded their lead to as much as 12, but UTS would shave it down to three with eight minutes to go. The Wolfpack once again would stretch out to a double digit lead. Wright led the Firehawks in the second half with 14 of his 21 points. LU would outrebound UTS 37-31.

SSAC CHAMPIONSHIP

The Southern States Athletic Conference Championship will take place beginning a pair of play-in games on Wednesday, February 28, in Montgomery, Ala. The top six seeds will earn a berth into the quarterfinal round. Seeds seven through 10 will battle for the final two quarterfinal spots.

Currently the Firehawks are the front runner for the first seed. UT Southern can claim the SSAC regular season championship and an automatic bid to the NAIA Championship tournament with a win against Blue Mountain Christian or with a Stillman loss.

NEXT UP

UT Southern will close out the regular season on the road in Blue Mountain, Miss. The Firehawks will square off with the Toppers on Saturday, February 24 at 2 p.m. UTS defeated Blue Mountain Christian in December 79-73.

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