Loyola Marymount vs. San Francisco Preview

The Lions are looking for their second West Coast Conference victory as they head to northern California to take on the San Francisco Dons on Saturday, January 24 at 10:00 pm ET.

Nov 15, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Loyola Marymount Lions forward Marin Mornar (42) attempts a shot defended by Boise State Broncos forward David Wacker (33) during the second half at Albert Gersten Pavilion. The Boise State Broncos defeated the Loyola Marymount Lions 77-69. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Loyola Marymount picked up their first conference win last week against Portland, but followed that impressive performance with two back-to-back losses, getting plummeted by #3 Gonzaga and falling just short to the Santa Clara Broncos.

Though they lost to SCU, the Lions still played some outstanding basketball. Marin Mornar, in particular, has been stellar for LMU as of late. He notched his second double-double in the Lions’ previous five games, scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against the Broncos. When they hosted Portland, Mornar went for 21 points and ten rebounds.

LMU has improved significantly in its past couple of games, receiving bountiful contributions from multiple players on the team. But picking up a win at War Memorial Gymnasium isn’t going to be an easy task by any means.

The Dons are coming fresh off a victory over the Pepperdine Waves, who have been one of the best teams in the WCC so far this year. USF was able to limit Jett Raines and Jeremy Major, two of Pepperdine’s best players, to five and seven points respectively.

More from LMU

• Exclusive Interview: Munis Tutu Talks Loyola Marymount Commitment
• WCC Represents Well in the 2015 MLB Draft
• Senior Send-Off: Loyola Marymount’s Chase Flint
• Senior Send-Off: Loyola Marymount’s Ayodeji Egbeyemi
• Senior Send-Off: Loyola Marymount’s Godwin Okonji

Not even the Zags, who walked out of Pepperdine with a slim two-point victory, were able to put that kind of cap on the Waves. The Dons played some great hustle defense and were rewarded with an impressive 71-59 victory.

Of course, a night in which USF guard Devin Watson went 7-12 from the floor with 16 points had a little something to do with their victory as well. 

But he wasn’t the only one. Four of the Dons’ starting five scored in double figures: Watson led the pack with 16, guard Tim Derksen scored 15 (going 9-10 from the free throw line), forward Kruize Pinkins notched 12, and fellow forward Mark Tollefsen got 11.

With such an impressive performance against one of the WCC’s top teams, it’s not going to be easy for Loyola Marymount to walk out of San Francisco victorious. But if they can continue to get such high productivity out of Mornar and a balanced attack from the rest of their squad, expect to see an entertaining matchup on Saturday night.