LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of San Francisco men's basketball team saw its season come to an end Friday night following a 70-66 loss at the hands of No. 5 Loyola Marymount in the second round of the UCU WCC Tournament at the Orleans Arena.
 
USF (11-14) had three players in double figures and was led by Dzmitry Ryuny's hot shooting night.  The junior forward was 6-for-8 from beyond the arc, his final miss a prayer at the buzzer.  Joining him in double figures was Jamaree Bouyea with 12 points and Josh Kunen with 11.
 
USF had a solid night shooting the ball overall. The Dons were 26-for-56 (46.4) from the field and 13-for-33 (39.4) from beyond the arc.  However, they struggled in the second half going 7-for-21 from 3-point range.
 
Loyola Marymount (13-8) finished four players in double figures but it was senior forward Eli Scott that was the difference maker. Scott finished the night with a game-high 24 points along with 14 rebounds for a double-double.
 
In the first half, USF did a tremendous job of pressuring the Lions and created 12 turnovers which led to 17 points for the Dons.  However, after losing senior forward Taavi Jurkatamm on the Dons' first offensive possession, the Lions were able to dominate the paint.

LMU finished the evening with 32 points in the key and outrebound the Dons 31-19.  Mattius Markusson was another big reason for that, the 7'3" center finished with 17 points and six rebounds and walled off the paint which made it difficult for Bouyea to drive to the hoop as successfully as he did the night before against San Diego.
 
A back and forth first half that featured three ties and 10 lead changes would only be outdone by an even wilder second half that saw the lead change 11 more times.
 
With 7:11 to play in the contest, Ryuny hit the fifth of his career-best six 3-point field goals to give the Dons a five-point lead up 57-52. USF could not hold to its late lead as Scott refused to go quietly. He scored 16 of his 24 in the second half – nine of that coming in the final six and a half minutes.
 
With 2:53 in the contest, Julian Rishwain gave the Dons a four-point lead, up 62-58, following a three at the top of the key.  LMU would retake the lead, but with 32 seconds remaining Bouyea drove to the basket and the Dons back up two, 64-63.
 
On the ensuing possession, Scott was fouled on a layup.  The traditional three-point play gave the Lions a two-point lead with under 20 seconds remaining.  Coming out of a USF timeout, a costly turnover by the Dons on their half of the court with 14 seconds remaining forced the USF to put the Lions at the free throw line where they put the game away.