Loyola Has the Finals Answer

Loyola Marymount point guard Charles Brown picked a good night to lead a young Lion team out of post-finals doldrums.

Brown had career-highs with 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Loyola remained undefeated at home with a 76-68 victory over Long Beach State in front of 1,302 Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion.

The Lions (5-3) let a 16-point second-half lead dwindle to five in the last two minutes but it didn’t keep them from improving to 4-0 at home.

Guard Brandon Worthy had 14 points off the bench and forward Andy Osborn had 12.

Loyola Coach Steve Aggers praised Brown’s most complete performance to date.

“He still made some turnovers that I think is just because of his inexperience,” Aggers said. “But he had a great summer and he bulked up in the weight room in preparation for this year. He’s got the weight of our team on his shoulders.’

Osborn’s three-point basket gave the Lions a 56-40 lead but the struggling 49ers didn’t go away easily.

Long Beach guard Tony Darden scored all 18 of his points in the second half, but Loyola made 11 of 12 free throws in the last 2:30 to pull away.

“We were very emotionally lethargic because we just came off finals,” Aggers said. “It was frustrating because even though we got a big lead, we couldn’t extend it. But we did what we had to do to win.”

Long Beach State (1-6), which committed 20 turnovers, dropped its fifth in a row and only has a victory over Cal State Monterey Bay, an NAIA school.

-- Eric Stephens

Cal State Northridge 92, San Jose State 67 -- Ian Boylan had 23 points, Armand Thomas had a career-high 16 points and the Matadors led by as many as 29 in front of 1,113 fans at home.

San Jose State never led and never threatened, as the Matadors scored at will down low, from three-point range and in transition after several San Jose State turnovers.

Scoring and stealing has been a theme lately for Northridge (5-2), which lit up Bethany College, an NAIA school, 117-51, last Saturday, and set a school record with 26 steals.

The next few weeks will be more telling for the Matadors. After a home game against Loyola Marymount, they play at Southern Illinois and at Washington before opening Big West Conference play at home against Utah State on Jan. 2.

“The next few weeks is strictly business for us,” said Thomas, a senior who redshirted at San Jose State as a freshman before transferring. “We’ve raised the bar to where we’re going to play.”

Northridge junior guard Justice Graham, who is averaging 6.4 points, has been suspended indefinitely because for behavior detrimental to the team.

Oudie Baker had 23 points for San Jose State (3-4). Freshman forward Antonio Lawrence, the Spartans’ second-leading scorer at nine points a game, did not play because he was suspended for undisclosed team reasons.

-- Mike Bresnahan

Idaho State 79, Cal State Fullerton 70 -- Guard Marquis Poole scored 20 points and teammate Scott Henry chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bengals (3-4) over the host Titans (1-6).

David Schroeder and Jeremy Brown scored 13 points each for Idaho State, which was coming off a 10-day layoff.

Fullerton center Pape Sow fought off a mild strain of his right ankle that happened just before halftime and led all scorers with 21 points. Ralphy Holmes scored 14 and Derick Andrew had 11 for Fullerton.

Fullerton forward Bron Groomes, who scored five points, suffered an injured ankle with 14:14 left and did not return, hurting Fullerton, which was out-rebounded, 41-25.

Sow’s basket with 12:48 left tied the score at 45-45. But 40 seconds later Poole, who played at Compton Centennial High, started an 8-0 Bengal run with a three-point play.

Sow’s three-pointer with 8:15 left cut Idaho State’s lead to it 54-51, but the Bengals recovered to lead by as many as 10 points.

-- Paul McLeod

UC Riverside 71, UC Santa Cruz 58 -- Freshman forward Nate Carter had game-highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Highlanders (1-2) over the visiting Banana Slugs (0-6).