Loyola Marymount Wins in Overtime

Loyola Marymount wasn’t looking ahead to next week’s showdown with Gonzaga, but the Lions almost let Pepperdine steal Saturday’s game right out from under them.

The Waves rallied from an eight-point second half deficit to force overtime, but Loyola regained control in the extra session, outscoring Pepperdine, 16-5, to complete an 89-78 victory at Gersten Pavilion.

Brandon Worthy led Loyola Marymount, 11-13 overall, 8-2 in the West Coast Conference, with 23 points, including 15-for-21 shooting from the free-throw line.

Wes Wardrop added 20 and Matthew Knight had 19.

Pepperdine (7-15, 3-7) had 18 points from Gregg Barlow and 14 points from Kingsley Costain. But after the effort to force overtime, courtesy of Barlow’s three-point basket with 17 seconds left in regulation, the Waves had nothing left. Their only basket came on a three-pointer by Tomas Pranciliauskas with 48 seconds to play. The other two points came on free throws.

Beyond the rivalry between the teams, the outcome was more important to the Lions.

With two weeks left in the regular season, Loyola remains two games ahead of San Diego for second place in the conference, and 1 1/2 games behind first-place Gonzaga. The Lions play host to the Bulldogs on Saturday.

The top two teams in the regular-season standings earn a spot in the conference tournament semifinals.

“I’ve talked to the kids about what’s at stake and where we’re going,” Lion Coach Rodney Tention said.

“And we’re going in the right direction. These guys are playing well, they’re believing in themselves. We could have thrown it in tonight when Pepperdine came back, but we found a way.”

The Waves, who shot 44.1% in the first half, held a 37-35 halftime lead.

-- Mike Terry

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 61, UC Irvine 58 -- Trae Clark scored 15 points at Irvine, including the last four points, and the Mustangs dropped the Anteaters out of first place in the Big West Conference.

Clark’s eight-foot bank shot gave the Mustangs (7-14, 5-4) a 59-58 lead with 40 seconds to play. The Anteaters (13-11, 9-3) had a chance to take the lead, but Gabe Stephenson blocked Aaron Fitzgerald’s shot, and Clark controlled the rebound before being fouled by Adam Metelski.

Clark made both free throws to complete the scoring and put Pacific in first place, percentage points ahead of Irvine.

UC Santa Barbara 81, Long Beach State 78 -- Cecil Brown scored 23 points and Chris Devine had 14 points and 11 rebounds to give the Gauchos their first victory at Long Beach since 2001.

Trailing, 76-70, with 3:01 remaining, the Gauchos (10-11, 3-6 Big West) went on an 11-2 run to win their third game in a row.

Jibril Hodges tied a career high with six three-point baskets and scored 24 points for the 49ers (11-11, 6-5).

Cal State Fullerton 81, Cal State Northridge 63 -- Jamaal Brown scored 25 points for the host Titans (11-10, 4-7 Big West), who ended a five-game conference losing streak.

Jonathan Heard scored 16 points for the Matadors (9-12, 3-7), who have lost four of five.

Pacific 95, UC Riverside 58 -- Christian Maraker and Johnny Gray each scored 14 points at Riverside to help the Tigers win their seventh consecutive game.

Pacific (18-6, 8-2 Big West) avenged a loss to Riverside (3-18, 3-7) in the conference opener.

The Tigers’ 37-point margin of victory was their largest since an 82-37 win over Savannah State in November, and it was Riverside’s worst defeat this season.