Nash Guides Santa Clara Past Loyola

Steve Nash had 21 points and Santa Clara held Loyola Marymount without a basket for more than 13 minutes midway through the game for a 78-60 West Coast Conference victory Saturday night.

Nash had 18 of his points, including two long three-point shots, in the second half. Adam Anderson added 13 points and Jason Sedlock had 10 for Santa Clara.

The Broncos, 13-5 overall and 4-2 in the WCC, used a 14-3 run late in the first half to build a 12-point halftime lead, and extended that margin to 18 points several times in the second half.

Mike O’Quinn and Ben Ammerman had 15 points each for the Lions (13-6, 3-3).

Loyola pulled within 47-41 with 11 minutes left, but Nash and Anderson made three-point shots as Santa Clara went on a 12-0 run to take an 18-point lead with six minutes left.

By winning, Santa Clara avoided its first successive losses since the 1993-94 season. The Broncos had a 15-game regular-season home winning streak ended Thursday with a 72-69 loss to Pepperdine.