Nov 28, 2002

Box Score

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team fell to Villanova 87-71 in the first round of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout on Thursday night at Sullivan Arena.

Villanova was led by Jason Fraser, who shot 5-for-7 from the field and 14-for-16 from the free throw line to finish with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Fraser led a Wildcat attack on the boards, outrebounding the Lions 41 to 20.

"I was proud of our effort tonight," said Head Coach Steve Aggers. "We went head-to-head with one of the premier programs in the country for over 32 minutes. For an early season game with as many young players that we have, we executed well. However, they killed us on the boards."

Sophomore Andy Osborn scored 17 and Charles Brown scored 12 for the Lions (2-1).

Villanova took its biggest lead of the first half, 22-14, with just over 10 minutes left on a 3-pointer by Randy Foye. A 17-5 Loyola run gave the Lions a 31-27 lead with 2:53 remaining, but Villanova closed with an 8-2 run of its own and took a 36-33 halftime lead.

"We were able to run our offense well for most of the game," said Aggers. "We were able to get good shots and played well defensively." Osborn finished the game hitting 5-of-8 from the three-point line as the Lions finished hitting 46 percent from the field. They hit 65 percent in the first half.

Loyola took its last lead at 47-46 with 14:48 to play. Over the next six minutes, Fraser scored 14 of Villanova's 18 points to give the Wildcats a 64-58 lead.

The Lions got no closer than seven the rest of the way as the game was settled at the free throw line down the stretch. The Wildcats were 30-of-39 from the free throw line, LMU was 21-of-31.

LMU will play the loser of the Michigan State/Montana game at 3 p.m. (PST). The game will be live at KXLU 88.9 FM.