Loyola Beats Santa Barbara for Fourth Victory in Row

Loyola Marymount got barely enough offense from its inside-outside combination of Richard Petruska and Terrell Lowery to hold off UC Santa Barbara, 80-77, in a nonleague game Monday night.

With the Gauchos making Loyola work for shots, the game had a rarity--the shot clock running out on Loyola during one sequence late in the game, for the first time in recent memory.

But with Lowery scoring 32 points and Petruska 19, time ran out on the Gauchos. The Lions extended their winning streak to four games and improved to 10-13. Santa Barbara lost its third in a row and fell to 9-10.

The Lions took a 31-20 lead with 5:40 remaining in the half but got only seven more points before the break. They needed a 30-foot shot by Greg Walker as the half ended to tie the score, 38-38, at intermission.

The teams played evenly for another 10 minutes. Loyola took its first lead of the second half with 10:15 left, 54-52, on a drive by Greg Walker. The Gauchos pulled into a 54-54 tie, but the Lions built a 60-54 lead on four consecutive points by Lowery and two free throws by Christian Scott.

The Lions extended the lead to 67-58 on a drive by Lowery and a three-point basket by Ross Richardson.

A three-point play by Bob Erbst brought the Gauchos to within 75-72 with 1:27 to play, but Lowery and Petruska combined for five free throws in the final 40 seconds.

Lowery scored 20 points in the second half, 10 on free throws.

“We’re finally starting to come together as a team,” Lion Coach Jay Hillock said.

Lucius Davis led Santa Barbara with 19 points. Gary Gray added 12, eight after halftime.