Santa Clara Hands Loyola Marymount Worst Beating in Four Years, 92-55

Loyola Marymount suffered its worst basketball defeat in four years Saturday night when it was beaten, 92-55, by Santa Clara.

The loss dropped the Lions to 10-13 overall and 2-6 in West Coast Athletic Conference play, while the victory allowed the Broncos (17-7, 6-2) to keep their hold on second place in the WCAC behind Pepperdine.

Keith Smith, Loyola’s 6-3 junior guard, scored 29 points, 18 of them in the second half, but the Lions were unable to keep up with the Broncos, who were led by forward Scott Lamson’s 26 points and 11 rebounds.

Santa Clara, which led, 36-25, at the half, made 34 of 48 free-throw attempts and outrebounded Loyola, 49-30. The Broncos shot 56.9% from the field, compared to 34.4% for the Lions.

Loyola trailed for most of the game and the closest the Lions came to catching Santa Clara was when it closed to within 23-21 with 4:10 to go in the first half. The Broncos then scored nine straight points and were never headed.