LOS ANGELES –  Loyola Marymount saw their 10-game home win streak dating back to last year snapped despite battling back in the second half Saturday night. The Lions (13-4, 1-2 WCC) dropped the West Coast Conference match to the Gaels (10-8, 2-1 WCC), 71-60, after starting the game in a 12-0 hole.
 
SMC pushed their first half lead to 20-4, and as high as 25 points at the 6:22 mark in the first half, but LMU ended the half with back-to-back baskets by Eli Scott and Joe Quintana to make it a 45-26 game at intermission.
 
Scott grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds to go along with 14 points for his first double-double of the season and seventh of his career.
 
The Lions clawed at Saint Mary's lead throughout the second half. An early 7-0 run cut it to 13 points with 16:28 to play as Jeffery McClendon found Mattias Markusson for a slam dunk at the rim. Markusson scored 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting, and McClendon led the Lions with five assists.
 
The deficit was cut to just 11 as James Batemon hit his first field goal of the game, a three to make it 53-42, with 12:50 on the clock. Batemon scored nine points and added four assists in the game.
 
A 9-2 spurt late cut it to single digits for the first time since those opening minutes. Quintana's jumper made it an eight-point game with 1:34 remaining.
 
Late free throws pushed it to the final score of 71-60, with the Lions outscoring the Gaels by eight in the second half.
 
LMU held Saint Mary's to 38 percent shooting after the break, and benefitted from 56.5 percent in the second half themselves.
 
The Lions outscored SMC, 40-28, in the paint.
 
LMU's next opponent will be Gonzaga in Spokane on Thursday night, before returning home for a 1 p.m. PCH Cup matchup with Pepperdine.