Knight’s 30 Lead Loyola’s 72-68 Victory

Matthew Knight had a career-high 30 points on 13-of-21 shooting and host Loyola Marymount beat San Diego State, 72-68, on Saturday night.

Knight, who had nine rebounds, was four for four from the foul line, and scored 10 of Loyola’s first 16 points.

Marcus Slaughter scored 21 points with nine rebounds to lead the Aztecs.

After eight lead changes, Loyola Marymount took the final advantage after a late 8-0 run.

San Diego State came within three points with 1:01 remaining, but then Knight made a layup with 28.9 seconds left, making the score 68-63.

San Diego State went on a 7-0 run and took a 51-48 lead with 9:46 left.

The Lions (6-2) have won four of their last five games; the Aztecs (4-5) have lost four straight.

Bradley 76, Pepperdine 58 -- Glen McGowan scored 18 points and Alex Acker added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Waves (7-3) in a nonconference loss before a crowd of 10,021 at Peoria, Ill.

Marcellus Sommerville had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Bradley, which never trailed and led, 35-28, at halftime.

Bradley outscored Pepperdine, 41-30, in the second half as the Braves shot 45.5% from the field and limited the Waves to 36% shooting over the final 20 minutes. Pepperdine shot 34% from the field, including a season-low 17.6% from three-point range.

UC Santa Barbara 55, Montana 46 --Casey Cook had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead the host Gauchos (2-4) to a nonconference victory.

Santa Barbara held the Grizzlies (4-5) to 31% shooting. Chrismen Oliver had 10 points, seven assists and a career-high five steals for Santa Barbara, which forced 23 turnovers.

The Gauchos led from the start, but a layup by Kevin Criswell pulled Montana within four, 47-43, with 2:32 left. Santa Barbara made six of its eight free throw-attempts in the final 1:22 to preserve the win.