USD Has Last Chance to Spoil Loyola’s League Record

The University of San Diego men’s basketball team will try to prevent Loyola Marymount from completing its first perfect conference season tonight at 7:30 in the USD Sports Center.

Loyola, 23-3 and 13-0 in the West Coast Athletic Conference, already has clinched the No. 1 seeding in the WCAC’s post-season tournament. Lion players have been saying for weeks that their immediate goal is to go 14-0 in the WCAC and take a 21-game winning streak into the tournament.

San Diego is seventh in the eight-team conference at 3-10 (11-15 overall) but is tough in its gym, as Thursday’s 76-74 victory over Pepperdine proved. Tonight’s game, the last of the conference regular season, is a sellout.

The victory over Pepperdine gave USD a 46-10 record in the USD Sports Center under Coach Hank Egan, who is in his fourth season. The Toreros shot 56% from the field and were led by Marty Munn’s 21 points and 13 apiece by Danny Means and Efrem Leonard.

The first time USD played Loyola--a 115-75 loss at Westchester Jan. 15--Munn made only 1 of 10 shots from the field, and Leonard did not play.

Loyola has won its past two road games on last-second heroics by Mike Yoest. His free throw with two seconds left beat Santa Clara, 94-93, two weeks ago, and his three-pointer at the buzzer beat St. Mary’s, 96-94, Thursday.

The Lions go into tonight’s game with several players battling the flu, and Corey Gaines will play with an injured ankle.

Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble lead the Lions’ 110-point per game attack averaging about 22 points apiece. Munn leads the Toreros with a 13.6 average.