Xavier More Than a Match for Loyola’s Game, 118-113

Loyola Marymount got the kind of game it liked Wednesday night against visiting Xavier of Ohio--fast-paced and well-played with both teams in the 100s.

But the Musketeers liked that style fine, too, and came away with a 118-113 victory before a crowd of 3,175 at Gersten Pavilion.

The Muskies (9-3), with a 5-game winning streak, led for much of the game--building leads that reached 12 points in the first half and 11 in the second--and withstood a Loyola charge midway through the second half, when Loyola held its last lead at 75-74.

Xavier answered with 12 straight points, then withstood another Loyola salvo by hitting 10 free throws in a row in the final 3 minutes.

The Muskies’ leader down the stretch was 6-foot 9-inch forward Tyrone Hill, who scored 15 of his 27 points in the final 6 minutes and grabbed 3 of his game-high 22 rebounds in a key 30-second stretch after Loyola had fought back and trailed by only 106-103.

Hill’s rebounds produced 4 free throws, all of which he converted. Muskie guards Stan Kimbrough and Jamal Walker combined to hit 6 straight free throws in the final 58 seconds to cement the victory. Walker finished with 27 points and 11 assists, while Kimbrough added 19 points.

The loss snapped a 3-game winning streak, dropping Loyola to 5-5, and came despite 34 points and 16 rebounds by Hank Gathers, 28 points by Enoch Simmons and 27 points by Jeff Fryer.

“That was a very good ballgame,” Loyola Coach Paul Westhead said. “It’s hard to comment (critically) when things are well done. We knew Hill could hurt us inside. They got too many second shots in the second half. But our guys played well.”

Xavier had a 49-45 edge in rebounds, despite having both big men in foul trouble. Hill played most of the first half with 3 fouls, and center Derek Strong, a Palisades High School graduate playing before a personal cheering section, picked up 4 fouls in the first half. Muskies Coach Pete Gillen opted to leave them in. Strong finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Neither fouled out.

“We wanted to stay aggressive. I didn’t want to go to the graveyard with my best players on the bench,” Gillen said.

Xavier outshot the Lions, 53% to 49%, but Loyola hit 10 3-pointers, 6 of them by Fryer. The difference was at the foul line, where Xavier got 35 chances and hit 26--to Loyola’s 15 of 20. Many Muskie free throws resulted from their ability to break Loyola’s press and force the Lions to foul.