11/28/05–
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHRISTIE'S BUZZER-BEATER IN OVERTIME LIFTS
JAGUARS TO 81-80 VICTORY AT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
CONTACT: Kit Strief
Box
Score
LOS ANGELES - With
4.3 seconds remaining down one in overtime, University of South
Alabama senior Chey Christie hit a fade away jumper to lift the
Jaguars to an 81-80 victory over Loyola Marymount on Monday. With
the victory, the Jaguars improve to 3-1 on the year, while LMU drops
to 1-3.
“We are very fortunate
to come in here and get the win,” Jaguar head coach John Pelphrey
said. “I thought both teams fought very hard. We started off
the game hot, but they were able to change the tempo and it really
bothered us.”
The game opened with
LMU scoring the first two buckets, but a trey by senior Mario Jointer
got the Jaguars on the board at the 18:43 mark. USA proceeded to
go on a 23-8 run through the first 10 minutes of the game. USA held
a 14-point advantage again with 5:58 remaining, but LMU cut the
deficit to four points at 46-42 at intermission.
Jaguar junior Stephen
Cowherd led the team with 12 points in the opening half on five-of-six
from the field and two-of-three from beyond the arc. LMU’s
Wes Wardrop scored 14 points in the opening half on five-of-10 from
the floor. USA shot 18-of-35 from the field for 51.4 percent. LMU
was 16-of-36 for 44 percent. The Jaguars were six-of-13 from beyond
the arc and four-of-five from the line.
The second half began
as neither team could make a shot. LMU’s Wardrop made two
free throws at the 17:30 mark to cut the deficit to 46-44. Wardrop
hit a three just over a minute later to give the Lions their first
lead since the opening minutes of the game. USA didn’t make
its first shot of the half until the 15:38 mark on a layup by senior
Michael Phillips.
The game was nip-and-tuck
the rest of the way as neither team jumped out to more than a four-point
advantage. The Jaguars regained the lead at the 9:36 mark on a pair
of free throws by Jointer. USA held a 63-60 lead with 6:16 remaining,
but LMU had the answer as it went up 67-65 with 3:30 remaining on
another jumper by Wardrop.
Jointer tied the game
with a jumper with 56 seconds remaining at 69-69. LMU’s Chris
Ayer had a good look with 32 seconds left, but a rebound by Phillips
gave the Jaguars the final possession of regulation. USA had the
final shot with four seconds left as junior Carlos Smith drove the
lane but the shot was blocked by Ayer as time expired.
Junior Jason McGriff
opened overtime with a layup and fouled to give USA a three point
lead with 4:35 remaining. USA built the lead to five with 4:13 on
a layup by senior Richard Law.
LMU continued to fight
and cut the deficit to one point on three different occasions before
taking the lead with 48 seconds left on a jumper by Wardrop. Phillips
made one-of-two free throws to tie the game with 27 seconds left
in overtime.
Brandon Worthy was fouled
with four seconds remaining and went to the line to shoot two. Worthy
clanked the first off the front of the rim and made the second giving
the Lions an 80-79 lead with 4.3 remaining.
After three
timeouts, two by LMU and one by USA, USA put the ball in play and
drove up the middle of the court, finding Christie who knocked down
the 16-foot fade away jumper as time expired, giving USA an 81-80
victory.
“I was the second
option on the play, but I was able to knock it down and we came
away with the win,” Christie said. “We fought hard and
we got good production from the bench everyone stepped up.’
That was Christie’s
only bucket of the game as he was one-of-five from the floor and
had six rebounds. USA had 16 points off the bench from Phillips
on seven-of-nine from the field and two-of-five from the line. Cowherd
finished the game with 16 points and Jointer chipped in 15. As a
team, USA shot 43 percent for the game on 32-of-74.
Wardrop led the Lions
with a game-high 25 points. Worthy chipped in 16 and Matthew Knight
added 13 and 12 rebounds.
USA returns home to face
Samford on Sat., Dec. 3 at 7:35 p.m. at the Mitchell Center. The
Lady Jags play host to McNeese State at 5 p.m. before the men’s
game.
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