The season drew to a close Thursday afternoon in Municipal Auditorium against SSAC foe and No. 1 seed Loyola 85-67 in the NAIA Round of 16.
Daniel Garmendia's layup tied the back-and-forth contest at 25 with 5:42 to go in the first half, but things started to unravel in the Eagles' upset bid. Faulkner shot just thrice from the floor, with Trace Hill's layup from Garmendia's assist at 2:17 being the only made field goal as the Wolf Pack sent Faulkner to the line five times for three made free throws. In that stretch, Loyola went 7-14 from the floor with three threes while winning the battle on the glass 8-4. The run gave the top seed a 46-30 halftime lead.
After the break, Scott Sanderson's squad chipped away at the deficit that got as large as 19 to 11 with just under 12 minutes to go. When a three with a chance to cut it to 10 sailed unbothered out of play, the Wolf Pack went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to put the game out of reach.
C.J. Hines and Garmendia each finished the game with 19 points. Trace Hill led the team with seven rebounds and six assists to go along with 12 points. Jalon Perry tallied 10.
The 2021-22 Eagles concluded with a 26-7 record in the third straight trip to Kansas City. Some of the marquee moments of the year include a 19-point win over this Loyola squad for the program's first upset over the No. 1 team in the country, a late three from Hill to beat Stillman and winning the Montgomery Bracket of the Opening Round for the second consecutive season.
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