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Mills, stellar defense lead St. Marys

Feb 17, 2008 - 7:02 AM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The combination of freshman Patrick Mills and the 21st-ranked Saint Mary's defense was just too much for Loyola Marymount.

Mills scored 17 first-half points while the Gaels' defense held the Lions to just five field goals in the first half en route to an easy 80-49 victory Saturday night in West Coast Conference action.

Averaging 14.4 points on 43 percent shooting, Mills netted 6-of-8 shots, including 3-of-5 from the arc, in the opening 20 minutes. His sharpshooting helped St. Mary's (22-3, 9-1 WCC) to a commanding 39-22 halftime edge.

While Mills was filling the hoop with jumpers, Loyola Marymount couldn't find the basket. The Lions had just one field goal in the last 13:35 of the half. They finished the half 5-of-24 from the field.

St. Mary's defense kept up the pressure in the second half, holding Loyola scoreless for the first 4:49 while pulling away.

"Saint Mary's is a very good team and we just did not hit our shots," Loyola coach Rodney Tention said. "We have not learned how to execute when our backs get against the wall. The tougher team won tonight and we have to learn how to play tougher."

Mills, who scored 37 points on November 20 against Oregon, finished with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 24 minutes. Diamon Simpson scored 12 points for the Gaels.

Orlando Johnson scored 14 points for the Lions (5-21, 2-8), who shot 26 percent (14-of-54) for the game.

"We did not run our offense as a cohesive unity," Tention said. "Against a team like Saint Mary's you have to execute as a team and we just didn't show enough trust in one another."