Loyola Stuns Gonzaga

Steve Aggers called it the biggest victory in his three seasons as coach at Loyola Marymount. Others will call it a small miracle.

Shaking off several seasons of frustration, Loyola ended a 16-game losing streak against Gonzaga by using a late rally to upset the first-place Bulldogs, 80-74, in a West Coast Conference game Saturday night in front of 2,501 at Gersten Pavilion.

“It’s a great win for the program,” said Aggers, whose team started the game tied for last place in conference. “It means more to me because it was against a quality opponent.”

Loyola (9-15, 3-6 WCC) defeated Gonzaga for the first time since 1996 thanks to an aggressive defensive effort. The Lions had 15 steals and forced Gonzaga (17-6, 8-1) into 19 turnovers, including five in the last 3 minutes 13 seconds when they outscored the Bulldogs, 14-2.

“Loyola deserved to win this ballgame,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “They were much more aggressive than we were on both ends of the floor.”

The loss ended Bulldog winning streaks at nine games overall and 22 games against WCC opponents.

After leading most of the game, Loyola fell behind, 72-66, when Gonzaga guard Blake Stepp made a three-point basket with 3:50 to play. The Lions answered with a 12-0 run, taking the lead for good, 73-72, on a three-point basket by Andy Osborn with 1:27 left.

Osborn, a sophomore forward, led Loyola with 17 points, making four of five shots from three-point range.

Steals by Brandon Worthy and Wes Wardrop led to three Loyola free throws in the final 1:08, and Wardrop’s layup made the score 78-74 with 14 seconds left, setting the stage for the student section to rush the court moments later.

Stepp led Gonzaga with 16 points and nine assists, but made only six of 15 shots and had eight turnovers.

-- Rob Fernas

Pepperdine 82, Portland 62 -- The Waves led from start to finish and ended a three-game losing streak in the West Coast Conference before 2,927 in Firestone Fieldhouse at Malibu.

Pepperdine (12-10, 4-5) jumped to a 10-0 lead while Portland missed its first four shots. The Pilots (9-13, 2-7) closed to within one point early in the first half but never took the lead. Pepperdine led, 45-31, at the half and extended its lead to 25 points on three occasions. Jimmy Miggins scored 17 points to lead five Pepperdine players in double figures. Boomer Brazzle had 16 points and led the Waves with nine rebounds.

Pepperdine had lost three consecutive conference games for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

-- Vince Kowalick

UC Irvine 72, Cal State Fullerton 52 -- Guard Mike Hood made seven of nine shots, including five from three-point range, to score a season-high 21 points in the Anteaters’ easy victory before 3,179 at the Bren Center at Irvine.

Irvine (13-7, 7-4 Big West) capped its four-game homestand with a 2-2 record and moved into third place. The Anteaters shot 68% from the field in the second half and 53.2% for the game with Hood providing much of the offensive spark.

The senior made five of seven three-point baskets and has made 18 of 24 over the last six games.

Stanislav Zuzak scored 17 points and Jeff Gloger added 11 points and six assists.

Irvine Coach Pat Douglass was most pleased with the defensive effort.

“That’s probably as sound a defense as we’ve played,” Douglass said.

The Titans (6-15, 4-7) have dropped six of seven conference games. Fedi Holm-Hadullah and Pape Sow each finished with 14 points for the Titans.

-- Eric Stephens

Cal State Northridge 75, Pacific 67 -- Senior guard Curtis Slaughter scored 24 points and sophomore forward Ian Boylan added 18 as the Matadors upended the Tigers in a Big West game at Northridge.

The Matadors (10-10, 4-6), languishing in seventh place in the conference, rallied from a 40-31 halftime deficit with a 17-3 run to open the second half. The Matadors limited the second-place Tigers to 19 points over the first 16:45 of the second half.

Slaughter made four of six three-point baskets, all eight of his free throws and accounted for eight of Northridge’s last nine points.

Pacific (11-8, 6-4), which had won three in a row, got 18 points from Miah Davis and 17 from Demetrius Jackson.

-- Lauren Peterson

UC Riverside 68, Long Beach State 65 -- UC Riverside made 10 of 16 free throws down the stretch in a Big West game at the Pyramid.

Long Beach, which began the season by losing 10 in a row, came into the game with another new lineup and a two-game winning streak. But the 49ers (4-16, 3-8) made only 21 of 55 shots.

Long Beach forward Vance Lawhorn, who finished with 17 points, missed two free throws with five seconds left that would have tied the score.

After Riverside (5-12, 4-7) made one free throw, Jibril Hodges missed a half-court shot at the buzzer.

Tony Darden didn’t start for the third consecutive game but scored 19 points for Long Beach.

-- Paul McLeod

UC Santa Barbara 52, Idaho 44 -- The Gauchos went on a 15-0 run in the final five minutes to rally for a win at Santa Barbara. Branduinn Fullove scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the second half as the Gauchos (11-10, 8-3 Big West) remained tied with Utah State for first place in the conference.

Idaho is 9-11, 5-6.

Santa Barbara made only 32.6% of its shots.