St. Mary’s 95-81 Win Over Loyola Leaves Gaels in Good Shape in WCAC

St. Mary’s took charge of the West Coast Athletic Conference race Saturday night with a convincing 95-81 victory over Loyola Marymount.

Before a boisterous standing-room crowd of 3,550, the Gaels took control with a 14-0 run in the second half to put them in good position in the WCAC race, though there are still four games left.

The victory gave St. Mary’s (20-3) its first 20-win season since 1941-42, and left the Gaels tied with Pepperdine for first place in the WCAC at 8-2. Loyola is 14-9 and 7-3.

If St. Mary’s and Pepperdine win their remaining four games, St. Mary’s would be seeded No. 1 in the WCAC postseason tournament by virtue of its sweep of Loyola. St. Mary’s also would be seeded over Loyola if they tie.

The crowd may have been premature in chanting “N-C-A-A” at the end of the game--the WCAC’s automatic bid goes to the postseason tournament winner--but everyone here, from the fans to Coach Lynn Nance, clearly believed that the Gaels had beaten their top competition.

After the game, Nance and his players returned to the court, high-fived the students and led cheers. The celebration culminated in Nance being carried off on the shoulders of players and fans.

Loyola appeared to be in good shape at halftime, taking control after six early ties. With Hank Gathers getting 20 points and eight rebounds in the half, the Lions pulled away from a 19-19 tie to a lead that reached 42-33, and they led at the half, 50-45.

The game continued to seesaw into the second half, with the teams battling to a 62-62 tie with 11 minutes left. But Loyola went cold for more than 4 minutes, and the Gaels ran off their decisive 14-0 streak. Loyola never got closer than 89-80, despite Gathers’ 37 points and 13 rebounds.

Loyola, which shot 51% in the first half, shot only 32% after halftime. Its 31 second-half points were its fewest of the season for a half. St. Mary’s, which made 20 of 27 second-half shots, mostly in the paint, shot 67% for the game. Only two other Loyola players, Enoch Simmons (12) and Bo Kimble (10), joined Gathers in double figures.

Erick Newman, Robert Haugen and Al Lewis led St. Mary with 21 points each. Dan Curry added 16.

“The pace was good, we missed some shots, they scored and a two-point game became a 12-point game,” Lion Coach Paul Westhead said. “We just didn’t have enough left to dig out. Then they went to their inside game and hurt us.”

With Curry, a 6-foot-9 center, having trouble containing the 6-7 Gathers, Nance shifted Newman, a 6-4 forward, to guard him after halftime. “In the first half I questioned our emotion,” Nance said. “Loyola was really ready to play. We were really quiet. Gathers was just killing us. He was beating us by himself. . . . He’s such a tough matchup for centers.

“We put Newman on him--that was really a gamble. Erick did an excellent job. I think that was the difference, that and we got much more aggressive in the second half.”

Gathers, however, said he believed he could have gotten the ball and posted up Newman, but his guards didn’t feed him.

“St. Mary’s did an excellent job of blocking us out,” Gathers said. “Then we really hurt ourselves in the second half.”

Gathers said St. Mary’s “can beat anybody on a given night.”

But he issued a challenge: “In the tournament, (St. Mary’s) has gotta prove themselves again, just like we did last year.

“I really think we’re the best team in the league. We’re just not playing like it. I still think we’re gonna win the tournament. Our guys have just got to realize how serious this is.”