Loyola Marymount Loses to Gonzaga on Jump Shot at the Buzzer, 51-49

Gonzaga guard Dwan Hurt made a jump shot at the buzzer to lift the Bulldogs to a 51-49 victory over Loyola Marymount Thursday night before a crowd of 1,180 at Loyola.

Loyola’s Keith Smith, who had 27 points, tied the game, 49-49, with eight seconds left. After a timeout, Hurt took the ball downcourt, stopped at the right of the free-throw line and made the shot under heavy pressure as time ran out. It was his only basket of the evening.

The victory broke a three-game losing streak and improved Gonzaga to 15-9 overall, 4-4 in the West Coast Athletic Conference. Loyola is 10-14 and 2-7.

The game was played evenly most of the way, with Gonzaga taking a 26-25 halftime lead. Loyola had taken a 37-32 lead behind Steve Haderlein’s second-half play--eight points and two steals in the first six minutes--but Gonzaga fought back when he got into foul trouble. Center Tim Ruff’s free throw gave the Bulldogs a 48-45 lead, but Smith cut the lead to one with a baseline turnaround. Hurt hit one of two free throws for a 49-47 lead. Smith then tied the game at 49, setting up Hurt’s game-winning shot.

Smith’s 27 points moved him into seventh on the Loyola career scoring list with 1,307 points. He needs 46 points in the final three games to become Loyola’s all-time single season scorer.