Jan. 21, 2006
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Despite a season-high 28 points from senior forward Travis Niesen and a gutsy defensive effort that held Loyola Marymount without a field goal for the final 7:47, the Santa Clara men's basketball team dropped a 72-62 decision to the Lions tonight at Gersten Pavilion.
Niesen, who scored 18 of his points in the second half, made a layup and two foul shots then Brandon Rohe added a three-point field goal to bring the Broncos to within three points at 60-57 with 2:43 remaining. But, six-straight field goals by the Lions put the lead back to nine and forced SCU to foul in the final minutes and kept the Broncos from making a comeback.
Santa Clara droped to 8-8 on the season and 1-3 in league play for only the second time since Dick Davey became the head coach 14 seasons ago. The Broncos complete three-straight games in Southern California with a Monday night, 7 p.m. contest at Pepperdine.
LMU's Wes Wardrop made three 3-pointers to spark a 15-5 run at the beginning of the second-half that gave the Lions (7-12, 4-1 WCC) a 37-29 lead with 14 minutes left.
He finished with four 3-pointers and eight assists, and made five key free throws down the stretch to help Loyola Marymount (7-12, 4-1 West Coast Conference) win for the fourth time in five games.
Rohe added 12 points for the Broncos, while John Bryant grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Wardrop scored 18 points to lead four LMU players in double figures.
Santa Clara returns home on Jan. 28 for a Saturday night game against San Francisco. The game will culminate a day of hoops activities that includes a 2:30 alumni game in the Leavey Center.
