Loyola Marymount Beats San Diego State

Loyola Marymount Coach Charles Bradley watched his team take another step in its rebuilding process Saturday with a 73-65 victory over San Diego State, despite playing without their top player, Haywood Eaddy.

With Eaddy, a 5-foot-4 senior and the Lions’ top returning scorer, sitting out his third game because of an ankle injury, guard Willie Allen stepped up with a team-high 15 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Loyola in front of 510 at Gersten Pavilion.

The Lions, who improved to 3-0 without Eaddy in the lineup and 3-3 overall, used a 14-3 run early in the second half and then withstood a late rally by San Diego State, which dropped to 1-6.

“One thing we were focused on was rebounding,” said Bradley, whose Lions’ held a 49-45 edge on the boards after being dominated in a loss to Cal State Fullerton last week. “We came out and did a great job.”

Ed Wolfe came off the bench to grab a team-high eight rebounds but the Lions, 7-20 last season, had seven players who had at least four. Tim Kennedy had six to go along with 14 points.