Loyola Too Hot for Northridge : College basketball: The Lions rally for a 71-66 victory over the Matadors. They will face Michigan State tonight.

Loyola Marymount took advantage of a second-half cold spell by Cal State Northridge to rally for a 71-66 victory Friday night in the first round of the L.A. Classic at Gersten Pavilion.

The Lions (2-1) will play 24th-ranked Michigan State (2-1) in the championship game tonight at 8. The Spartans, led by center Mike Peplowski’s 34 points, advanced with a 78-59 victory over Stetson.

Loyola trailed Northridge (1-4) most of the game and fell behind, 53-43, with 11:48 to play after forward Zan Mason was called for goaltending.

But the Lions, with an aggressive man-to-man defense, held Northridge to 13 points and three field goals in the last 11 minutes. Two field goals came in the last 25 seconds after Loyola had taken a 68-62 lead on free throws by guard Rahim Harris with 35 seconds remaining.

“I thought that Loyola played very good defense in that stretch,” said Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy, whose team went nearly seven minutes without a field goal after taking the 10-point lead. “We couldn’t stop their momentum at that point. . . . They took us out of our offense.”

Loyola Coach John Olive said the Lions needed a big finish to overcome 34.6% shooting and 11 turnovers in the first half. Loyola made 14 of 21 shots in the second half and shot 48.9% for the game.

“I saw us play poorly, but I’ve got to say that the last 10 minutes of defense was pretty darn good,” Olive said. “I attribute part of that to our offense getting some fast-break opportunities.”

Mason, a 6-foot-7 junior, led Loyola with 16 points and 11 rebounds. He gave the Lions the lead for good, 61-60, by converting a three-point play after a fast break with 3:03 left.

Loyola extended its advantage on a three-point basket by guard Ross Richardson and two free throws by point guard Bill Mazurie, making it 66-60 with 1:11 remaining. The Lions led by no fewer than four points in the final minute, clinching the victory by making seven of eight free throws.

“I thought we executed the offense much better (in the second half),” Olive said. “We got the ball inside. Earlier, we took some poor shots and made some bad decisions.”

Harris added 15 points and five assists to Loyola’s balanced attack, and center Brian McCloskey had 14 points and nine rebounds. The Lions made 22 of 30 free throws compared to 12 of 17 for Northridge, and they outrebounded the Matadors, 39-29.

Loyola made only nine of 26 shots in the first half--missing all five of its three-point attempts--yet the Lions trailed only 33-30 at halftime.

Guard James Morris, finishing with five three-point baskets in six attempts, led Northridge with 17 points. Point guard Andre Chevalier scored 16.