The St. Mary's, Calif. Gaels had been perfect all season at home before Wednesday night to the Loyola Marymount Lions. St. Mary's suddenly met an opponent that was deeper and longer than they were, and they punished them all game long.
LMU forced St. Mary's to shoot 38.6% from the field and take 28 three points, making only six of them. St. Mary's also turned the ball over 14 times. Meanwhile Loyola Marymount shot 47% from the field and hit seven of 15 three pointers, all while connecting on 18 of 27 free throws.
Anthony Ireland led the Lions with 16 points and seven assists, Drew Vinney chipped in 17 points of his own, Jarred DuBois had 15 points and five rebounds, and Ashley Hamilton added 11 points of his own. St. Mary's was led by Rob Jones with 25 points and 15 rebounds, but the rest of the team shot 12 for 35 from the field.
LMU improved to 8-3 on the road and improved their chance of a good seeding in the WCC tournament. St. Mary's is still in good shape to win the conference, but they probably do need to win their final head-to-head matchup against Gonzaga to be assured of that title.