St. Mary’s Pulls Away From Loyola and Wins, 78-64

Loyola Marymount was called for 21 fouls in the second half while St. Mary’s was tagged for only four as the Lions lost their third straight game, 78-64, Saturday night at Moraga.

The West Coast Athletic Conference game was tied at halftime, 32-32. But St. Mary’s outscored Loyola 21-8 during the first 11 minutes of the second half to take a 53-40 lead.

St. Mary’s is now 13-9 overall and 4-4 in the WCAC, while Loyola is 10-10 and 2-5.

St. Mary’s made 25 of 31 free throws in the second half, while Loyola made 4 of 4.

Loyola made 13 of 40 second-half field-goal attempts, while St. Mary’s made 10 of 23.

For the game, Loyola shot 85% from the foul line (17 of 20), but St. Mary’s took 15 more free throws, making 28 of 35.

In the second half, St. Mary’s didn’t commit a foul until only 5:07 remained on the clock.

Still, St. Mary’s led only 68-62 with 1:23 left, but the Gaels made 10 of 10 free throws from that point on to widen the margin.

David Carter, who made 8 of 12 field-goal attempts, led St. Mary’s by scoring career-high 20 points. Forward Robert Haugen added 15.

For Loyola, sophomore guard Enoch Simmons, starting for only the third time, was the Lions’ leading scorer for the third straight game. He had 15 points Saturday night.

Mike Yoest had 13 points and 9 rebounds before fouling out with 40 seconds left.

Forward Mark Armstrong and reserve guard Dennis Vogel of Loyola also fouled out.

St. Mary’s and Loyola play again Friday night at Loyola.