Loyola Gets Lift From Bench in Comeback

Battling foul problems and a 10-point deficit at one point in the first half, Loyola Marymount rallied with the help of a freshman forward to defeat San Diego State, 75-67, Wednesday night before 924 in the campus gymnasium.

“We had to get back to defending, rebounding and taking care of the ball,” Loyola Coach John Olive said. “Once we did that, we were OK.”

Loyola improved to 4-1 going into a 10-day break for final exams. San Diego State (3-1) was unbeaten but untested, with victories over Southern California College, Cal Poly Pomona and Sacramento State.

Loyola won despite the considerable foul problems of starting forwards Wyking Jones and Mike O’Quinn. Jones still managed to lead the Lions in scoring with 15 points on seven-for-seven shooting from the field and O’Quinn had 14. “Our bench was critical tonight,” Olive said. “We got very valuable minutes from our bench.”

Ben Ammerman, a freshman forward from Sacramento, was particularly important at a stage of the first half when San Diego State was threatening to blow the game open. The Aztecs, controlling the offensive boards, led by 10 and Jones was on the bench in foul trouble. Ammerman’s five defensive rebounds, however, keyed Loyola’s rally to a 35-35 tie at the half.

O’Quinn provided the offensive spark to ease the Lions into a lead in the second half, scoring eight points in the first 9 1/2 minutes as Loyola moved to a 58-54 lead.

Loyola would have been more comfortable with its lead, except that both Jones and O’Quinn were forced to the bench with four fouls. But Ammerman made a driving basket that gave Loyola its first double-figure lead at 65-54.