GAME NOTES: West Coast Conference action will take place tonight, as the Loyola Marymount Lions get set to host the University of Portland Pilots. The last time the Pilots were on the court the team collected a hard-fought, 82-78 victory over Pepperdine. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for Portland and also gave the team a 1-0 mark in West Coast Conference play. The Pilots have struggled on the road this season and head into this matchup with a mere 2-6 ledger away from home. As for the Lions, they have struggled tremendously this season, losing 14 of their first 17 games. LMU has dropped its last seven games, including an embarrassing, 91-68 setback to Gonzaga this past Saturday. Surprisingly, the Lions have been terrible at home this year, losing all seven games at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions have a solid 44-35 lead over Portland in the all-time series, but the Pilots have won five of the last seven meetings, including a 55-41 this past season at home.

The Pilots exploded offensively the last time they were on the floor, shooting 44.6 percent from the field en route to an 82-point performance. In the four- point victory over Pepperdine, the Pilots nailed 10-of-25 attempts from behind the arc and won the battle on the boards, 43-32. Sherrard Watson, who is averaging 11.6 ppg, led the way in the win with 22 points. As for the team's leading scorer, Nik Raivio (13.5 ppg), he tallied 17 points for Portland, while Ethan Niedermeyer posted a career-high 16 points in 21 minutes of action off the bench. Despite the impressive performance against Pepperdine, the Pilots have been inconsistent offensively, averaging just 67.6 ppg, while shooting 44.3 percent from the field.

The Lions have not had much success offensively, as the team is currently averaging just 64.5 ppg, while shooting a mere 40.7 percent from the field. LMU has also struggled with turnovers, committing a whopping 20 mistakes per contest. Orlando Johnson is the only player averaging double figures for the Lions, as the guard is posting 13.1 ppg. Shawn Deadwiler is second on the squad in scoring, but is posting just 9.8 ppg, while shooting a terrible 34.7 percent from the field. The offensive woes for LMU continued the last time the team took the court, as the Lions scored only 68 points in a 23-point setback to Gonzaga. In the setback, the Lions shot 43.4 percent from the floor, but committed 18 turnovers and lost the battle on the glass, 29-21. Corey Counts led the way in the setback with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Johnson and Deadwiler added 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lions do not have enough offensive firepower to slip past Portland. The Pilots have struggled away from home, but should be able to defeat a LMU team that is winless at home.