Loyola’s Rally Against Gonzaga Comes Up Short : Basketball: The Lions charge back from a 13-point deficit before losing, 65-64. It is Gonzaga’s first win at Loyola since 1987.

Early this week, Loyola Marymount Coach John Olive said it was critical that the Lions win their first two West Coast Conference games at home.

“In a conference situation, you have to hold your own turf,” Olive said.

Loyola nearly held its ground Saturday night, cutting a 13-point deficit to one in the last six minutes, but Gonzaga hung on for a 65-64 victory before 2,047 at Gersten Pavilion.

The defeat left Loyola (6-8), which beat Portland on Friday, with a 1-1 conference record. Gonzaga, the preseason WCC favorite, improved to 9-5 and 1-1 with its first victory at Loyola since 1987.

Reserve guard John Rillie made three of four one-and-one free throws in the final 27 seconds, the last two coming with five seconds left to give Gonzaga a 65-61 lead. Loyola forward Zan Mason beat the buzzer with a three-point shot to make it a one-point game.

“They stuck in there,” Mason said of Gonzaga, which was held without a field goal in the last 4:56. “They made the big plays at the end to take the game away from us.”

Loyola shot a season-low 36.2% (25 of 69) and missed two field goals in the last minute. With the Lions trailing, 62-61, point guard Bill Mazurie drove to the basket and had his shot go in and out with 29 seconds left. After a free throw by Rillie made it 63-61, Loyola center Brian McCloskey missed a 10-foot jump shot from the right side of the key.

Gonzaga center Jeff Brown rebounded the miss and was immediately fouled with seven seconds left. Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one, but teammate Marc Armstead got the rebound and was fouled. Injured on the play, Armstead left the game and was replaced by Rillie, who secured the victory with his two free throws.

Brown, a 6-foot-9 junior, led Gonzaga with 19 points on eight-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds. Reserve guard Matt Stanford added 17 points and Armstead, a 6-7 forward, had a game-high 14 rebounds. The Bulldogs outrebounded Loyola, 42-28.

“I thought that their overall physicalness was the difference in the game,” Olive said. “They’re a tough, physical team.”

Mason led three Loyola players in double figures with 15 points. McCloskey and Mazurie scored 14 and 12, respectively, but were a combined 10 of 29 from the field.

Olive said coming back from a 59-46 deficit with 6:24 left, and playing its second game in two nights might have taken a toll on Loyola.

“I thought we were sluggish at times,” Olive said. “I thought we played on emotion in the last six minutes.”

After trailing by eight, Gonzaga ended the first half with a 16-5 run to take a 29-26 lead. Stanford scored seven points during the stretch.

Loyola made only two of its first 14 shots, falling behind, 11-6, before mounting a comeback behind “The Pack,” a quicker lineup consisting of reserves Wyking Jones, Christian Scott, Cobi McElroy and Greg Walker, and starting forward Robin Kirksey.

Pressuring Gonzaga with a half-court trapping defense, Loyola forced the Bulldogs into three consecutive turnovers and took a 14-13 lead on a shot in the key by Kirksey. The Lions extended their advantage to 21-13, but they made only one field goal in the last five minutes of the half.

Loyola shot 29.7% in the first half and Mason, playing only nine minutes because of foul trouble, had only two points at intermission.