Loyola Wins on a Half-Court Shot

Jim Williamson says he and his Loyola Marymount teammates will frequently take half-court shots before practice starts. “They do it just clowning around,” according to Coach John Olive.

Williamson took one as he hit the center line Friday night a fraction of a second before the final buzzer, and it went straight into the net, giving the Lions an 80-77 victory over Cal State Fullerton before 1,779 at Gersten Pavilion.

It climaxed a furious finish in which Williamson, a 5-foot-10 sophomore guard, also had connected on a 15-foot fallaway jump shot with 25 seconds left to give Loyola a 77-74 lead. Fullerton called time out, then reserve David Harrison hit a three-point shot to tie the score with seven seconds remaining.

All Williamson had time to do was take a pass, get within howitzer range and let it fly from more than 45 feet away.

“We call them geese when we do it before practice because they’re mostly hook shots and we look like a bunch of geese,” Williamson said, smiling. “I just let that one go with one hand. I couldn’t believe it went in. That’s something you just dream about.”

Williamson had gone zero for nine from the field earlier this week at UC Santa Barbara, where Loyola absorbed its second consecutive loss, but he had the hottest hand when it counted Friday, lifting the Lions’ record to 7-3 and giving them one more victory than they had all last season.

Williams scored 11 points as all five Loyola starters were in double figures, center Ime Oduok leading the way with 20 points plus nine rebounds. Forward Wyking Jones had 16 points, Mike O’Quinn 13 and Robin Kirksey 12.

Fullerton (3-6) made a late-game run after falling behind by 14 points with slightly more than eight minutes left. The Titans battled back by hitting six consecutive three-point shots.

Center Winston Peterson led the Titans with 16 points and nine rebounds. Guard James French scored 12 points, and Harrison finished with 11, making five of eight shots from the field.