Loyola No Match for San Diego in Second Half

Loyola Marymount came out against San Diego like a team that could do no wrong.

Then came the second half--and a Torero team that could do no wrong.

San Diego rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit and ran away from the Lions for a 75-51 victory Saturday night in a first-round West Coast Conference tournament game.

The Toreros (14-13) will play Portland (17-10), a 78-72 winner over San Francisco, in tonight’s second semifinal game.

The Lions (18-11) will go home wondering what hit them. San Diego trailed, 34-22, at halftime but shot a blistering 60% in the second half while holding Loyola to 21.9% to outscore the Lions, 53-17.

Sophomore forward Brian Miles led San Diego with 12 of his team-high 17 points in the second half.

Guard Mike O’Quinn had 20 points for Loyola, while center Ime Oduok concluded his college career with 10 points--six below his average. Guard Jim Williamson, the Lions’ No. 2 scorer at 13.4 points a game, had two points on 1-for-12 shooting.