USC center Nikola Vucevic looks for room to maneuver while being defended by Loyola Marymount's Edgar Garibay (Compton High School grad). LMU won, 67-59. (Photo by Mario Villegas)
Story Published:
Nov 23, 2009 at 2:12 PM PDT
Story Updated:
Nov 23, 2009 at 2:12 PM PDT
Overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit, Loyola Marymount rallied to defeat USC, 67-59 Saturday at Galen Center.
Sophomore Jarred DuBois’ 3-pointer with 2:50 to play broke a 58-58 tie and lifted LMU to the road win.
“It has been a little while since this program got a win on this side of town,” LMU coach Max Good said. “This was a big win for us, bouncing back the way we did from Wednesday night, and doing it on the road.”
DuBois, the sophomore point guard out of Westchester High School, scored a season-high 17 points to lead three Lions in double figures as the Lions earned their first win on the USC campus since the first game of the 1976-77 season, a span of 33 years. It is also the first overall road win since Dec. 8, 2007 against Boise State, snapping a streak of 24 games.
Freshman Edgar Garibay, a Compton High product, had a career-high 12 points with six rebounds. Sophomore Drew Viney had 14 points and five rebounds.
“We showed great poise and never let panic set in,” Good said. “To get a win on the road against a Pac-10 team coached by Kevin O’Neill, is a big accomplishment. Defensively we did a really good job in the second half, and that was the key to getting us back in the game.”
Due to injuries and eligibility issues, USC played just six on the night, and the Lions took advantage down the stretch.
LMU trailed 41-29 after Nikola Vucevic dunked the ball with 17:09 to play. At that point, the Lions were shooting just 35 percent from the field and had just three field goals over a span of 12 minutes.
Junior Vernon Teel, who finished with seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists, hit a lay-up after a steal to cut the lead to seven, 41-34, with 15:40 to play.
The lead would grow back to 10, 46-36, with 15:18 to play.
The Lions then found their shooting touch. They went on an 11-1 run over the next four-plus minutes to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Viney with 10:32 to play. Five of the points in that run were off turnovers.
After leading by as many as eight with 12:03 to play in the first half, junior Larry Davis gave the Lions their first lead since the opening stanza, hitting a running lay-in with 8:07 to play.
The Lions would not trail again.
With the score tied at 58-58, DuBois nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the night for the 61-58 lead. The Lions would then go 6-for-6 from the charity stripe the final two minutes and did not allow a field goal the final 3:19 of the game for the eight-point win.
The Lions finished the second half shooting 52 percent and had 10 of their 18 points off turnovers in the final frame.
“Our defense really caused them fits and with their limited bench, we really tried to extend the floor and be aggressive,” Good said. “We shot our free throws much better and did what we needed to down the stretch.”
USC (1-1) received a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds from forward Vucevic. Dwight Lewis, USC’s only returning starter, was only 3 of 12 from the field to finish with 11 points.
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