Loyola Turns Defensive, Defeats St. Mary’s

Loyola Marymount, which suffered a 93-74 defeat at St. Mary’s last weekend, turned into a defensive-minded team Saturday night in a 59-55 West Coast Conference victory over the Gaels before 2,474 at Gersten Pavilion.

It was fewest points scored by a Loyola opponent since the Lions’ 55-54 victory over Santa Clara during the 1985-86 season.

“We decided to play man-to-man defense and make (St. Mary’s) earn every basket they got,” Loyola Coach John Olive said. “We wanted to make sure we tagged every person tonight. We wanted to make it as difficult as possible for them to score.”

Loyola (7-10, 2-3 in the WCC) ended a three-game losing streak as St. Mary’s (5-12, 1-5) made only 33.3% of its shots.

Despite the Gaels’ poor shooting, they managed to cut a 13-point second-half deficit to 57-55 with 18 seconds left on a three-point basket by forward John Levitt, who scored all of his game-high 22 points in the second half.

Loyola then got the ball up court against St. Mary’s press, and forward Zan Mason made two free throws with three seconds left to account for the final score.

Reserve guard Ross Richardson led four Lions in double figures with 14 points. Point guard Bill Mazurie scored six of his 10 points in the last 2:40, making all four of his free throws.

“At home, we were able to break their press and get some easy baskets,” St. Mary’s Coach Ernie Kent said. “Tonight they didn’t press and we had to work for everything. The difference was their intensity.”