Loyola Loses and Is Stuck in Last Place

Loyola Marymount’s hopes of moving out of the West Coast Athletic Conference cellar dissolved Saturday night when push came to shove and Lion star Mike Yoest was ejected.

After Yoest’s ejection, Santa Clara went on a 13-0 tear and emerged with a 88-74 victory before a season-high crowd of 3,678 at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions’ loss guaranteed a last-place finish. The Lions, 11-15 overall, fell to 3-10 in the WCAC, two games behind Pepperdine and the University of San Francisco with one to play. Santa Clara improved to 15-12 and 6-7.

The Lions led, 37-32, at the half and had a 59-58 lead when Santa Clara center Dan Weiss bumped Yoest off the court and received the ball near the basket. Weiss spun, dunked, and was fouled hard by Yoest returning from out-of-bounds.

Weiss then said something to Yoest, who shoved him and had to be restrained. Yoest, who had 15 points, was given a technical foul and ejected with 7:21 to play.

Weiss hit the free throw, Mitch Burley added two technical foul shots, and Weiss scored again as Santa Clara kept possession: a seven-point play and a 65-59 lead.

Burley then hit a three-pointer, and guard Chris Lane scored on a drive and a foul shot to give the Broncos a 71-59 lead with 6:08 left. The Lions fought back to within 78-74 with 1:06 remaining, but Santa Clara pulled away with a string of free throws.

Yoest had been the key player in the first half, scoring 13 points, 9 on free throws. Weiss finished with a career-high 23 points.