USD Hopes in WCAC Fall in Loyola Loss

The University of San Diego basketball saw its West Coast Athletic Conference championship hopes die Friday night in the Albert Gersten Pavilion against Loyola.

The Toreros, although taller on the front line, were out-hustled, out-thought and ultimately out-rebounded (44-38) by the Lions.

The disparity in rebounding--which would have been greater had USD not closed the gap in the final moments--provided Loyola with a 67-59 win and dropped USD three games out of first place in the conference.

Loyola (7-0, 15-6) has now won nine straight games to match its longest winning streak in 19 years. USD (4-3, 14-7) fell two games behind second-place Pepperdine, which hosts USD at 7:30 tonight in Malibu.

“I don’t think it was a lack of effort, just a lack of execution,” USD Coach Hank Egan said. “Desire may have had something to do with it, but they just had more quickness under there.”

The Toreros’ problems were most apparent during the first eight minutes of the second half when Loyola broke away from a 33-33 halftime score to lead, 51-43.

Lion guard Forrest McKenzie, who led all scorers with 26 points, hit four long jumpers, and when he missed, Loyola kept it alive for second shots. USD did not get its first defensive rebound until 8:30 had elapsed in the second half.

“My gut feeling afterward was that we won the game because of our intensity on the boards,” Loyola Coach Paul Westhead said. “I think our fast-paced tempo got them a little tired and gave us the edge.”

Interstingly, the Lions were able to keep the tempo fast without their quick point guard Keith Smith, the conference’s leading scorer. Smith sprained his left ankle two minutes into the game, and although he returned and played in spots, he was ineffective and scored just 5 points.

Just as they were unable to take advantage of their height, the Toreros were also incapable of taking advantage of Smith’s injury.

USD guard Pete Murphy, the teams’ best outside shooter, hit only one-of-eight shots and finished with two points.

“We tried to get some other people in there, but nobody could seem to get the shots down,” Egan said.

USD shot just 36% from the field and only 26% (11 of 42) in the second half.

Thanks to a rambunctious record-crowd of 4,110, the game got off to a fast start. In fact, before the game started, fans of both teams spilled on to the court for a little pre-game brawl.

Once order was restored, Loyola started fast. McKenzie hit three long jumpers and Mike Yoest scored twice underneath to help the Lions gain a 17-9 lead.