Shot at the Buzzer Stops Loyola in Overtime, 81-80

Chey Christie’s jump shot at the buzzer lifted South Alabama to an 81-80 overtime victory over Loyola Marymount on Monday night at Gersten Pavilion.

The game-winning 16-footer, with less than a second left, was the only shot Christie made in six tries.

“I think I would prefer to get blown out rather than losing like that,� said Loyola Coach Rodney Tention. “We are still a work in progress and we did some good things tonight. We have to find a way to close it out.�

Loyola took a one-point lead with 4.3 seconds left after Brandon Worthy made one of two free throws. After a timeout by each team, Christie took Richard Law’s inbounds pass close to halfcourt and charged toward the basket before stopping, spinning and making the game-deciding shot.

Michael Phillips and Steven Cowherd each scored 16 points off the bench to lead the Jaguars (3-1).

Wes Wardrop scored 25 points for Loyola (1-3), which suffered its third consecutive loss. Worthy had 16, and Matthew Knight had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The score was tied, 69-69, at the end of regulation. As it did to start the game, South Alabama jumped to an early lead in overtime, going ahead, 74-69. The Lions came back and had a 79-78 edge when Wardrop made a jump shot with 48 seconds left. Phillips made one of two free throws to tie it, 79-79, and set up the final 27 seconds.

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Cal State Fullerton 82, South Dakota State 70 -- The Titans (3-0) shot 54.3% in the first half and rushed to a 19-point lead at halftime before holding off the Jackrabbits (1-4) at Brookings, S.D.

Bobby Brown’s 17 points led five Fullerton players in double figures. Jamaal Brown had 15 points; and Jermaine Harper, Jerard Moret and Frank Robinson each contributed 11 points.

Matt Cadwell had a game-high 26 points to lead the Jackrabbits. The Titans pulled away with strong three-point shooting, make nine of 21 attempts from beyond the arc. South Dakota State, which came as close as six in the second half, made only four of 20 three-pointers.

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Arizona State 73, UC Santa Barbara 57 -- Kevin Kruger scored 13 of his 16 points to lead the Sun Devils (3-0) at Tempe, Ariz. Krueger made a three-pointer and a 15-footer to start a 9-0 run that opened a 50-40 lead for Arizona State with 9:02 left. Santa Barbara never got closer than seven after that.

Anti Atuahene, wearing a mask to protect a broken nose suffered in a preseason practice, had 15 points and nine rebounds for Arizona State.

Cecil Brown had 14 points and six rebounds to lead Santa Barbara (2-2), which had tied the score, at 29-29, at halftime but was stymied by 21-for-60 shooting for the game.