Loyola’s Struggles Continue : WCC: Lions fall to Santa Clara, 71-62, for fourth loss in a row and seventh in eight games.

The dejected look of forward Zan Mason mirrored the mood of Loyola Marymount after a 71-62 defeat Friday night against Santa Clara at Gersten Pavilion.

“It’s been pretty frustrating,” Mason said. “We just feel helpless. If we knew what was wrong, we would have corrected it a long time ago.”

Unfortunately for Loyola, no one seems to have a solution. The Lions lost their fourth consecutive game and seventh in the last eight, falling to 7-14 overall and 2-7 in the West Coast Conference, tied with Portland for last place.

Santa Clara, defeating Loyola for the second time in less than a week, improved to 11-10 and 5-4. The Broncos took a 10-point halftime lead and led by at least six the rest of the game.

“Sure, it’s frustrating,” Loyola Coach John Olive said. “No one likes to lose. I think we’re playing hard, but we’re not doing the basic, fundamental things we need to do.”

One of the them is taking care of the ball. Loyola committed 24 turnovers, negating the team’s 53.5% shooting. Center Brian McCloskey led the Lions with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and nine rebounds.

Mason, Loyola’s leading scorer with a 16-point average, continued his personal slump, scoring only five points. He has averaged only eight points during the last five games.

“It just seems like I can’t touch the ball that much,” said Mason, who made two of four shots. “I couldn’t get into the flow of the game.”

Point guard Bill Mazurie, Loyola’s second-leading scorer, didn’t start, didn’t score and played only 16 minutes because of a pulled groin muscle.

Forward DeWayne Lewis, a junior from Hamilton High, led Santa Clara with 18 points.

Loyola, held to 16 first-half points in last Saturday’s 80-57 defeat at Santa Clara, got off to another poor start against the Broncos.

After falling behind, 11-2, Loyola pulled within 17-16 before Santa Clara went on a 13-0 run.