Paul McMillian scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Sunday night to lead Loyola to a 74-71 victory over Birmingham-Southern in the first round of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.
The Ramblers (4-4), who also got 20 points and another 10 rebounds from Demetrius Williams off the bench, will meet host St. Mary’s (7-5), a 90-69 winner over St. Peter’s (5-4), in Monday night’s title contest.
Loyola hasn’t won a regular-season tournament title since the Chicagoland Classic during the 1981-82 season.
Williams put Loyola ahead for good when he sank two free throws with 3 minutes 24 seconds to play, giving the Ramblers a 67-65 lead. Later he completed a three-point play with just :19 left, giving Loyola a five-point lead and sealing the victory.
Jakob Sigurdason led the Panthers (6-3) with 21 points. Shema Mbyirukira added 15 on 6-of-9 shooting.
With Williams and McMillan dominating the boards, Loyola outrebounded Birmingham 44-31.
Both teams finished with 14 turnovers, but Loyola did a far better job protecting the ball with the game on the line. Birmingham made two costly mistakes down the stretch, while Loyola had only one turnover in the final 14 minutes of the game.
Conradt reaches Summitt
Nina Norman scored 18 points and Jody Conradt tied Tennessee’s Pat Summitt for the most career coaching victories in women’s basketball at 828 as fifth-ranked Texas beat the No. 2 Lady Vols 70-60 at Knoxville, Tenn.
Jamie Carey added 14 points for the Longhorns (11-1), who defeated Tennessee (7-1) for a third straight time.
“The mind-set of our players was that this was a respect game and we have to go prove that we deserve that kind of respect,” Conradt said.
RESULTS, SUNDAY’S SYNOPSIS
#1 Connecticut 101 vs. Ball State-a 62
Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon each scored 25 points and top-ranked Huskies (9-1) defeated Cardinals (3-5). Okafor also had 14 rebounds for 6th double-double of season.
Liberty 91 at #5 Arizona 107
Andre Iguodala had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for 2nd triple-double and only 8th in school history, leading Wildcats (7-1) in 1st round of the Fiesta Bowl Classic.
Harvard 59 at #6 Stanford 100
Matt Haryasz set career high for 2nd straight game with 16 points and Matt Lottich had team-high 19 as Cardinal (9-0) remained unbeaten with victory over Crimson (0-11).
#9 N. Carolina vs. 71 N.C.-Wilmington-b 54
Melvin Scott scored 19 points and overshadowed teammate Raymond Felton’s homecoming, leading Tar Heels (7-1) over Seahawks (4-4).
Washington St. 58 at #15 Gonzaga 96
Cory Violette scored career-high 31 points and Bulldogs (8-2) shot over 70 percent from field in rolling past Cougars (6-4). Thomas Kelati led WSU with 15 points.
N.C.-Ashville 63 at #17 Syracuse 81
Hakim Warrick scored 18 points and Billy Edelin had 11 points and career-high 11 assists to lead Orangemen (7-1) past Bulldogs (2-8) and to 7th straight win.
#24 Maryland 75 at Florida State 79
Alexander Johnson’s ferocious dunk sparked 16-2 run midway through 2nd half and Seminoles (11-1, 1-0 ACC) bounced back from lone loss to beat Terrapins (7-3, 0-1).
Penn State 73 vs. Arkansas St.-c 61
Jan Jagla had 18 points and 17 rebounds as Nittany Lions (5-4) beat Indians (8-2), who had 5-game win streak snapped in 1st round of Lobo Invitational.
Northwestern vs. 47 Miss. Valley St.-d 49
Willie Neal rebounded Attarruis Norwood’s jumper and put it in with :04 left to give Delta Devils (6-4) victory over Wildcats (5-6) in SunClassic consolation game.
Bradley 55 at UNLV 73
Odartey Blankson had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Rebels (7-3) outscored Braves (7-4) down stretch 17-7. Bradley’s Marcellus Sommerville had game-high 17 points.
Dartmouth 58 at Ohio State 71
Tony Stockman came off bench to score 15 points and lead balanced attack for Buckeyes (7-4). J.J. Sullinger added 10 points in beating the Big Green (2-7).
Illinois State 40 at S. Illinois 57
LaMar Owens had 16 points and Darren Brooks added 12 as Salukis (8-1, 2-0 MVC) topped Redbirds (4-5, 0-2) to extend home win streak to school-record 31.
La. Lafayette 95 vs. Valparaiso-e 71
Cedric Williams had career-high 23 points and Ragin’ Cajuns (4-3) beat Crusaders (2-6) in Fiesta Bowl Classic opener. Valpo’s Joaquim Gomes had 17 points, 10 rebounds.
a-at Hartford, Conn.; b-at Myrtle Beach, S.C.; c-at Albuquerque; d-at El Paso, Texas; e-at Tucson, Ariz.
