Los Angeles, Calif., -- Junior midfielder Claudio Basaez picked an opportune time for the first goal of his collegiate career, scoring at the 110:56 mark Saturday as Loyola Marymount defeated San Diego State 1-0 to close the LMU Fall Classic presented by Tony P's Dockside Grill. The double-overime victory at Sullivan Field erased a two-game losing skid for the Lions and raised their record to 5-3-0, while SDSU fell to 3-5-0 in heartbreaking fashion.
The Aztecs were the aggressors early, outshooting Loyola Marymount 12-6 in the opening half. However Lion senior keeper Jerad Bailey made five of his 14 saves in the first 45 minutes to thwart the visitors' attack.
LMU turned the tables in the second half, firing 16 shots to San Diego States nine as the home team barely missed two golden opportunities to score. Near the 67 minute mark senior Spencer Reeves followed up sophomore Eric Kims blocked shot, however his rebound attempt rattled off the right goalpoast. Reeves had another open look three minutes later but his shot was saved by Aztec sophomore keeper Brian Barnes.
San Diego State nearly dealt LMU a crushing defeat in the final seconds of regulation as freshman forward Mike Klotovich challenged Bailey one-on-one but fired a hard shot just left.
After a few more near misses in the first overtime, Loyola Marymount finally hit paydirt in the final sudden death period. Reeves streaked down the right sideline and fired a right cross to sophomore forward Arturo Torres near the top of the box. Torres found Basaez camped out inside the box, and the junior beat the outstreched arm of Barnes with his shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.
LMU has now won all three of its overtime games this season, while four of its five victories have been shutouts. The Lions placed second in the LMU Fall Classic behind 19th-ranked San Jose State, which defeated Loyola Chicago 3-0 in Saturdays early game to go undefeated in the two-game tournament. San Diego State placed third while Loyola Chicago finished fourth.
Loyola Marymount returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 26 as they travel up the coast to battle UC Santa Barbara at 7:00 p.m.
2000 LMU Fall Classic All-Tournament Team
Isaias Bardales, Ryan Suarez, Gonzalo Guerra, Frank Sanfilippo -- San Jose State
Spencer Reeves, Jerad Bailey, Jeff Kovar -- Loyola Marymount
Enrique Tovar, Ryan Curtis, Brian Barnes -- San Diego State
Brian Contreras, Jason Franco -- Loyola University Chicago
Tournament MVP -- Jorge Martinez, San Jose State
