Portland Squeezes Out Win Over Loyola

Peter McKelvey scored 34 points and made two free throws with 42 seconds left Thursday to give the University of Portland a 95-94 West Coast Conference victory over Loyola Marymount.

Loyola’s Rahim Harris had given the Lions a 94-93 lead when he connected on one of two free throws.

But McKelvey, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, then made his two foul shots. McKelvey tied a school record with eight three-point shots.

“He simply dominated the game,” Loyola Coach Jay Hillock said. “He’s a very quick, good basketball player.”

It was the sixth victory in the last seven games for the Pilots (1-0, 8-6). Loyola fell to 1-1 in league play and 7-7 overall.

“I thought we played well,” Hillock said, “but you have to give Portland all the credit in the world for hanging around. We had a few opportunities to put the game away toward the end, but as long as a team is able to hang around, they’ll have a chance to win.

“Their play down the stretch was excellent.”

Uba Satterfield scored 20 points for Portland.

Terrell Lowery had 19 points for Loyola, but he made only six of 21 shots, including three of 12 from three-point range.

Chris Knight added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Lions.

“This team (Portland) is one of the most improved teams I’ve ever seen,” Hillock said. “Parity is here in the conference and every game is going to be a war.”