Huskies Get Past Loyola

Loyola Marymount, knowing well the high-profile basketball opportunity that 16th-ranked Washington’s rare visit to Gersten Pavilion provided, was audacious enough to play at the high-scoring Huskies’ pace Sunday before falling, 100-93, in front of 2,006.

Led by 5-foot-9 guard Nate Robinson, Washington took control with an 18-2 run midway through the second half to take a 77-62 lead. The steadily improving Lions (5-2), who were outshot despite making 51.4% of their field-goal attempts in the second half and making 43.8% of their three-point shots for the game, looked at the loss as a learning tool.

“I don’t know if this is a lost opportunity, because there were a lot of things we accomplished out there,” said forward Dustin Brown, who along with guard Brandon Worthy had a team-high 18 points. “We’re going to learn a lot from this game.”

Loyola chose to run and, for a time, was successful. The Lions managed a halftime tie and started the second half with five consecutive points for a 51-46 lead. Daryl Pegram’s three-pointer helped them regain the lead at 60-59.

Robinson buried a three-pointer on the next possession to trigger the Huskies’ big surge. Over the next six minutes, Washington limited Loyola to one field goal and got many of its points either in transition or with Robinson and point guard Will Conroy penetrating the lane and finding teammates.

“They really run the floor well, and I probably didn’t do a good job of subbing,” Loyola Coach Steve Aggers said. “We had some tired guys. When they go from defense to offense, it’s like they’re running downhill.”

Loyola still had a shot at the end. Charles Brown made two three-pointers to cut the Husky lead to seven with 48 seconds left. The Lions then pulled to within five, but Robinson made four free throws in the final 13 seconds.

Washington (7-1) handled this road test with Robinson scoring 20 of his 28 points after halftime.

“He’s a complete player,” Worthy said. “He can take you off the dribble, and he shot it extremely well from three-point range.”

Robinson, who made four of six three-point shots, had help. Tre Simmons had a career-high 26 points, and former Long Beach Poly star Bobby Jones scored 21.

The Huskies, who average 89.5 points, shot 57.4%.

-- Eric Stephens

No. 9 Duke 82, Toledo 54 -- Mike Krzyzewski became the sixth active coach to reach 700 victories as the Blue Devils (6-0) beat the Rockets (1-4) at Durham, N.C.

At a postgame ceremony, Krzyzewski (700-240) thanked several people within the program and then gave a nod to his former coach and mentor, Bob Knight, the only one to reach 700 faster than Krzyzewski.

“There’s no greater teacher for me,” he said of Knight. “There must be something about those old Army coaches.”

Before the game, Krzyzewski called to thank the man who hired him at Duke, former athletic director Tom Butters.

“I wonder, ‘How lucky was I?’ ” said Krzyzewski, recalling his 38-47 record in his first three seasons. “At 38-47, somebody’s got to be there for you. Duke’s always been there for me, and I’ll always be there for Duke.”

Arizona State 75, UC Riverside 59 -- The victory at Tempe, Ariz., gave the Sun Devils (7-1) their best start since the 1992-93 team was 8-1. Rickey Porter’s 17 points led the Highlanders (3-3).