Loyola’s Hopes Go by the Boards Against Xavier, 115-113

CINCINNATI —  If a good man is hard to find, how about a good big man?

As one basketball fan said of Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night: “If that team had a great 6-foot-9 man, they’d win the national championship.”

The observation followed Xavier’s 115-113 victory over the Lions before a near-sellout crowd of 8,741 at Cincinnati Gardens.

The difference in the game was Xavier’s commanding height advantage and a last-second jump shot by Musketeer point guard Jamal Walker, who hit the winner in the lane with two seconds remaining.

Loyola’s ability to keep running--and three-point shooting --nearly overcame Xavier’s 67-36 rebounding edge.

But Xavier’s two 6-10 seniors, Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong, came up with two big plays down the stretch that beat the Lions.

Hill scored a career-high 38 points and added 20 rebounds, and Strong, a Palisades High graduate, came up with 24 points and a Midwestern Collegiate Conference record 24 rebounds. The Muskies (8-1) grabbed 31 offensive rebounds.

Xavier pulled away from a 54-52 halftime lead to build a 15-point lead with 7:41 left. But with Bo Kimble scoring 38 points and the Lions hitting 15 of 24 three-point attempts, Loyola ran off a 23-8 surge to tie the score, 108-108.

With 1:19 left and Xavier leading, 113-110, Walker missed the first shot of a one-and-one free-throw situation and Loyola’s Terrell Lowery scored on a drive. Loyola’s Hank Gathers hit the front end of a one-and-one to tie the score with 52 seconds remaining, 113-113.

On a flurry under the basket, Hill was fouled and missed the first shot of the one-and-one situation, but Strong grabbed the rebound and cleared it to Walker, who dribbled into the lane and sank a 12-foot shot. Walker finished with 17 points and a game-high seven assists.

The 25th-ranked Lions (7-3) got 20 points and eight rebounds from Gathers, who has still not regained peak conditioning after missing time after fainting in a game; and 18 points from Jeff Fryer. Kimble, continuing his recent scoring binge, hit all seven three-point shots and 13 of 19 shots overall. He added 10 rebounds.

It wasn’t enough to overcome Xavier’s twin towers. The Muskies’ rebounding advantage helped offset nine missed free throws in the second half and Loyola’s 15-3 three-point basket differential.

“Their two big men were hard to contend with,” Lion Coach Paul Westhead said.

“We knew we had to try to stop their offensive rebounding,” Kimble said. “The most crucial one of all was at the end. They did what they had to do. Give them credit--we came back and they didn’t fold like (opponents) usually do.”

Xavier Coach Pete Gillen, whose team is 58-4 at home in the past four-plus seasons, said: “We like to go inside. If you want your big guys to rebound and run the floor, you’ve gotta get them the (ball).

“But teams find a way to win if they’re good teams. We found a way. This is the best team Paul has had. Kimble’s a nightmare. They’re certainly a Top 20 team--if there’s 20 teams better on a neutral floor I want to see them.”