Lions Sleep, Lose to San Diego, 87-77

Late in the first half, Loyola Marymount Coach John Olive walked to the end of the Lion bench and yelled at his players, “Wake up.”

Despite Olive’s plea, Loyola continued to sleepwalk in the second half as San Diego pulled away for an 87-77 West Coast Conference victory Thursday night.

The Toreros led, 81-58, with 3:06 to play before Loyola’s second team made the score respectable with a late run.

Said Olive: “San Diego was more aggressive than us. That’s why they won. There’s no secret to it.”

And there was no mystery surrounding Loyola’s fifth defeat in six games. The Lions (7-12, 2-5 in the WCC) fell out of a tie with Portland and into seventh place in the conference, half a game ahead of last-place St. Mary’s.

Loyola committed 22 turnovers and allowed San Diego (9-9, 4-3) to take 13 offensive rebounds. Forward Gylan Dottin led the Toreros with 25 points on nine-for-13 shooting. Guard Joe Temple added 20 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.