Nov. 21, 1997

USC Holds Off Loyola Marymount, 92-88

LOS ANGELES - Super-sub Adam Spanich burried a fade-away 19-foot jumper with :24 left to break a tie and lead USC (2-1) to a 92-88 win over Loyola Marymount at LMU's Gersten Pavilion.

Forward Gary Williams scored 23 and grabbed 8 rebounds, both team-highs for the Trojans. Sophomore Jarvis Turner added 19 and Spanich 13.

In a game of dramatic momentum changes, SC built an impressive 19-point lead, 76-57, with 10:22 remaining.

LMU recovered and took a one-point lead, 85-84, with just 1:24 to go on a driving lay-up by catalyst Haywood Eaddy. At only 5-feet 4-inches, Eaddy barely peeks out from his super-baggy-sized drawers, but he scored 22 crowd-pleasing points.

SC fought back right away on the dead-eye jumper from Spanich and sensational free-throw shooting (18 of 19 for the game) to secure the victory.

Guards Gary Johnson and Elias Ayuso added 15 and 14 points respectively for USC.

Scrappy Trojan defense forced 23 LMU turnovers.

Next, the Men of Troy host UCSB Tuesday at 8:00 in the L.A. Sports Arena. It's the second-half of a men's and women's hoop double-header.

QUOTES:

USC Head Coach Henry Bibby:
"We are still trying to find ourselves, what we can do and who can play together. It's a learning process for the kids. It's a very, very young team. I liked the win because it came against older guys. And they're a pretty good team."

On Game-Winning Jumper by Spanich - "That's the way we drew it up. We know Adam can knock that shot down."

USC Forward Adam Spanich:
On Game Winning Shot - "I saw (Gary Johnson) penetrate to my side. He drew my guy and kicked it to me. It was tough to handle, but I knocked it down."