Jan. 22, 2005

Box Score

Los Angeles, CA (Jan. 22) - Loyola Marymount University men's basketball could not answer the hot shooting of Saint Mary's in the second half, as the Gaels used 65.4 percent shooting in the final frame to pull away for an 83-66 win on Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion.

After cutting the lead to five at the start of the second half, 37-32, Saint Mary's went on an 11-0 run to put the game out of reach. Saint Mary's remains in a tie for first place with Santa Clara at 4-1 in WCC play and improves to 17-5 overall. The Lions, who played their second straight without three starters, falls below .500 for the first time in two seasons at 9-10 and 1-5.

"Saint Mary's played really well in the second half," said Head Coach Steve Aggers. "You are not going to beat anybody when allowing them to shoot the way they did in the second half." Saint Mary's hit 6-of-8 (75 percent) from the three-point line in the second half and finished the game hitting 64.3 percent from long range and 56.4 percent from the field.

The Lions were paced by sophomore Matthew Knight and junior Wes Wardrop with 14 points each. Daniel Kickert led all scorers with 28 points, scoring on 11-for-13 from the field, including 4-for-6 from long range. Paul Marigney added 17 as four Gaels scored in double figures.

"Their dribble penetration really hurt us tonight," said Aggers. "We struggled to stop it, which forced double teams and they did a good job of finding the open man. If they keep shooting the way they did tonight, they will be tough to beat in the WCC."

The Lions finished the game hitting 50 percent themselves from the three-point, hitting 6-for-12. It is the third time this season the Lions have hit better from the three than the field, going 45.3 percent on the night.

With the injuries, the Lions went deep to their bench as all 10 players in uniform played at least eight minutes. Sophomore John Montgomery had his best game of the season with seven points, three assists, a steal and two rebounds. Freshman Vitor Boccardo continued to show signs of improvement with four points and three rebounds. Freshman Jon Ziri also finished with nine points and three rebounds.

The Lions will play rival Pepperdine on Saturday, Jan 29 at Gersten Pavilion. The game is at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net West 2.

- GO LIONS -