Feb 1, 2004

Box Score

Los Angeles, CA (Jan. 31) -- Senior Sherman Gay scored 18 points and junior Charles Brown added 17 as Loyola Marymount used a tough defense to earn an 82-77 victory over St. Mary's of California Saturday night in West Coast Conference action at Gersten Pavilion.

The Lions (11-9, 2-5 WCC) shot 67 percent in the second half and finished hitting 56 percent for the game to knock of the Gaels (12-9, 3-3), who were picked to finish second in the WCC. It was the first team on the season to shoot more than 55 percent from the field against the Gaels.

"This was a great win for our program," said Head Coach Steve Aggers. "We beat a very good team tonight. We played great against what I think might be the second best team in our league. We played great defense and our team showed a lot of character tonight.

The Lions, down by one at the break, would streak out to a 71-60 lead with 5:27 left in the game thanks to a pair of jumpers from senior Keith Kincade, who missed his first start of the season due to a strained ankle.

However, the Gales would go on an 11-2 run to cut the Lions' lead to 73-71 with 2:36 left. The Lions, who have found ways to win all season, countered with a 7-0 run to increase its lead to 80-73 with 1:45 remaining.

"This team has proven all season that they do not get down," said Aggers. "We have won some tough road games this season when teams made a run at us. We kept our poise and got a great conference win."

St. Mary's cut the lead to 80-77 on an E.J. Rowland lay-up with 29 seconds left. The Gaels then stole the inbounds pass but missed a shot from in close. A wild scramble ensued for the rebound before Loyola Marymount came up with it.

Brown and freshman Matthew Knight, who made his first collegiate start, converted one of two free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory for Loyola Marymount. Gay made seven of 12 shots and had six rebounds and four blocks.

Brown was 6-of-12 from the floor and added eight assists with two steals. The Lions finished with 22 assists on the night. Wes Wardrop had 11 points and Dustin Brown was 5-for-5 from the field and scored 10 points for the Lions.

Rowland scored a career-high 22 points and had five assists for St. Mary's. Daniel Kickert added 16 for the Gaels.

LMU will travel to the Pacific Northwest when they take on Portland on Thursday, Feb. 8. The game can be heard on the Lions' Audio Network.

- GO LIONS -