Loyola Wastes Lead but Beats Portland

Loyola Marymount, after squandering a 14-point lead, regrouped in the final six minutes to pull away for a 93-86 victory over Portland before 2,440 Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion.

“We like to give the sports fans their money’s worth,” said Loyola Coach Jay Hillock, whose team finished the regular season 15-12 overall and 8-6 in the West Coast Conference, good for a third-place tie with Gonzaga.

Loyola’s victory, coupled with Pepperdine’s 75-63 win over Gonzaga, gave the Lions the third seeding for the WCC tournament starting Saturday at Portland. Loyola will play sixth-place University of San Francisco (12-15, 4-10) in the first round. USF upset the Lions in the first round of the tournament last season.

Hillock, though, was pleased to be in a position to reach the tournament final without having to face unbeaten WCC champion Pepperdine. The Lions have beaten all of the other conference teams at least once.

“(Pepperdine is) by far the best team, but eventually the numbers have to go against you,” Hillock said, alluding to the Waves’ 30-game WCC winning streak.

Senior guard Tony Walker led Loyola against Portland, scoring 20 points on eight-for-eight shooting and passing off for a game-high 10 assists. Senior guard Terrell Lowery scored 25 points for the Lions but made only nine of 22 shots.

Forward Grant Tracy led the last-place Pilots with 20 points.