LMU finally seizes victory late
Loyola Marymount repeatedly toyed with the notion of seizing control during its West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament semifinal matchup with Saint Mary’s.
It never happened.
So the second-seeded Lions will have to settle with turning back numerous Gaels’ rallies and surviving a tense final minute for a hard-earned 66-63 victory Sunday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
The Lions (12-17), advancing to their first WCC title game appearance in 17 years, will take on No. 1-seeded Gonzaga tonight at 6.
No. 3 Saint Mary’s, winners of seven straight coming in, finished with a 17-12 record.
Loyola Marymount had seen an 11-point second-half lead dwindle to four before junior guard Brandon Worthy and senior forward John Haywood teamed up on an 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds. That gave the Lions a 51-39 lead with 9:30 remaining, but the Gaels wouldn’t go quietly.
It followed a game-long pattern, as the Lions would threaten to pull away, only to see Saint Mary’s fight back, despite woeful perimeter shooting (5 of 22 3-pointers). LMU hurt its own cause by making only 7 of 21 free throws.
Worthy, who scored 59 points in two regular-season games against Saint Mary’s, seemed to put an exclamation point on the contest when he made a diving save of a loose ball under the basket that Haywood scooped up for a dunk. The basket gave the Lions a 59-48 lead with 3:22 left.
But the Gaels chipped away, eventually pulling within 65-62 when Ian O’Leary hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 13.4 seconds left. Worthy made one of two free throws with 12.7 seconds left.
Then, the unthinkable almost happened. Wayne Hunter’s 3-point attempt rimmed out while he was being fouled by Haywood. Had Hunter’s shot gone in, he would have had a chance at a game-tying four-point play.
Instead, Hunter made just one of three free throws. After his final miss, he briefly had possession of the rebound, but Haywood stripped the ball loose and the Lions were able to run out the clock.
“I was very, very happy with John’s effort off the bench,” LMU coach Rodney Tention said. “He’s a senior. I don’t think he wanted to end his career tonight. I was probably a little upset at him on that (late) foul, but I was probably more upset with the other four guys. It really wasn’t (Haywood’s) guy. But I’ve always told the guys if you’re going to make a mistake, make it going hard.”
Loyola Marymount bolted in front 15-5 in the first six minutes, but the Gaels rallied back to tie it at 17, despite the foul trouble of Daniel Kickert.