Haney's 18 helps Loyola Marymount hold off San Francisco

Feb 24, 2018, 12:41 am

LOS ANGELES -- Steven Haney scored 18 points and Loyola Marymount held on to defeat San Francisco 53-51 on Thursday night despite making just four of its last eight free throw attempts in the final 30 seconds.

The win also keeps the Lions hanging onto the sixth seed into the West Coast Conference Tournament with a bye into the quarterfinals. San Francisco falls one spot to fifth.

The contest was low-scoring and tense throughout. San Francisco briefly held a 10-point lead after starting the second half 5-0, but Loyola Marymount scored the next seven to tighten it back up.

Haney converted a three-point play and added a 3-pointer on either side of a Trevor Manuel layup as Loyola Marymount (14-14, 7-10) surged into a 44-39 lead with nine minutes to go.

Nate Renfro's bucket with 1:24 remaining rallied San Francisco (19-11, 9-8) to 49-48 but the Dons couldn't grab the lead despite Loyola Marymount making just half its free throws down the stretch.

Jordan Rathino sank a 3 with 17 seconds left for the Dons' final basket but missed a layup as time expired. He led with 13 points.