USD Has Last Chance to Spoil Loyola’s League Record

SAN DIEGO — The University of San Diego men’s basketball team will try to prevent Loyola Marymount from completing its first perfect conference season tonight at 7:30 in the USD Sports Center.

Loyola, 23-3 and 13-0 in the West Coast Athletic Conference, already has clinched the No. 1 seeding in the WCAC’s post-season tournament. Lion players have been saying for weeks that their immediate goal is to go 14-0 in the WCAC and take a 21-game winning streak into the tournament.

San Diego is seventh in the eight-team conference at 3-10 (11-15 overall) but is tough in its gym, as Thursday’s 76-74 victory over Pepperdine proved. Tonight’s game, the last of the conference regular season, is a sellout.

The victory over Pepperdine gave USD a 46-10 record in the USD Sports Center under Coach Hank Egan, who is in his fourth season. The Toreros shot 56% from the field and were led by Marty Munn’s 21 points and 13 apiece by Danny Means and Efrem Leonard.

The first time USD played Loyola--a 115-75 loss at Westchester Jan. 15--Munn made only 1 of 10 shots from the field, and Leonard did not play.

Loyola has won its past two road games on last-second heroics by Mike Yoest. His free throw with two seconds left beat Santa Clara, 94-93, two weeks ago, and his three-pointer at the buzzer beat St. Mary’s, 96-94, Thursday.

The Lions go into tonight’s game with several players battling the flu, and Corey Gaines will play with an injured ankle.

Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble lead the Lions’ 110-point per game attack averaging about 22 points apiece. Munn leads the Toreros with a 13.6 average.