An ice-cold second half squashed the upset hopes of the Loyola Marymount Lions, who fell 62-58 to the No. 21 Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Lions, who fell to 3-2 in West Coast Conference play.
LMU took a 34-32 lead into halftime thanks to 12 second-chance points and decent shooting from the field (44.8%). But Gonzaga started the second half on a 17-4 run to build an 11-point lead. The Lions shot just 28.6% (six for 21) from the field in the second half.
Ashley Hamilton scored 16 points to lead LMU in defeat, while LaRon Armstead poured in 14 points off the bench, including a pair of three-pointers. Lions' leading scorer Drew Viney struggled on Saturday with just six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Elias Harris scored 19 points to lead Gonzaga, who is tied with the BYU Cougars for second place in the WCC. Gary Bell added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who have beaten Loyola Marymount four straight times.
Loyola Marymount hits the road next week, beginning with a Thursday night trip to Utah to face the BYU Cougars.