Petruska and Lowery Lead Loyola, 105-84

Even in their recent seasons while dominating the West Coast Conference, Loyola Marymount lacked a man in the middle.

That may be a thing of the past. Behind 6-foot-10 Richard Petruska’s second-half performance, the Lions beat Portland, 105-84, Friday before 2,165 at Gersten Pavilion.

The Lions’ seventh victory in a row and sixth in the West Coast Conference lifted them into a third-place tie with Santa Clara at 6-5, and to 13-13 overall. Portland fell to 2-9 and 4-20.

After trailing by four at the half, Loyola outscored the Pilots, 56-31, in the second half. Terrell Lowery led the Lions with 32 points, but Petruska was the difference, scoring 16 of his 20 points after halftime and grabbing 13 rebounds.

On perhaps his most impressive play of the season, Petruska made a dunk with a defender riding his back.

“When Richard comes to play, he’s pretty tough,” teammate John O’Connell said.

“He can’t play much better than that. (With Petruska) we’re in good shape now.”

Lowery also had 10 assists. His 32 points gave him 726 for the season, moving him into sixth place in WCC single-season scoring history.

Loyola Coach Jay Hillock on Petruska: “He’s the best big man in the West Coast Conference. He’s getting more and more comfortable. He and Terrell Lowery are really carrying us.”

After an uninspired first half, the Lions trailed, 53-49, despite 20 points from Lowery. The Pilots consistently beat Loyola with long outlet passes and had several seven-point leads before halftime. Portland’s David Roth scored 14 of his 20 points in the half.

But Loyola changed its defense in the second half. Playing a man like a free safety in football to cut off the outlet pass, the Lions caught the Pilots at 57-57, then went on a 14-2 run sparked by the inside play of Petruska. He scored eight points in the first four minutes of the half and dominated both boards.

The Lions expanded the lead to 90-74 with 5:13 to play. Portland pulled to 92-80, but Loyola steadily pulled away in the closing minutes. The Pilots committed 17 second-half turnovers--31 for the game--and shot 36% after the break.