Loyola Marymount Has to Work for Victory

LOS ANGELES —  It figured to be merely a midweek tuneup for this weekend’s conference matchups, but Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night instead found itself in a hard-fought battle against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo before pulling away down the stretch for a 76-64 nonconference victory.

Apparently, the Mustangs were intent on keeping their road winning streak alive. Granted, that streak was only one before they came to play before 1,528 at Gersten Pavilion.

But before winning at Cal State Sacramento last Saturday, they had lost 31 in a row on the road dating to 1993.

The Mustangs (9-9) had a 43-42 lead with 16 minutes to play. But the Lions (12-5) ran off 12 consecutive points to open a 54-43 lead and were never headed.