LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Sonoma State men's basketball team opened up their exhibition season on Friday night with an 80-50 loss to Loyola Marymount, a member of the West Coast Conference. While the Seawolves didn't pull the upset against the NCAA Division I Lions, they got a first look at a host of newcomers as they prepare for their regular season.
After a 1-for-15 start from the field early in the first half, the Seawolves caught fire with a three-pointer from
Jordan Fleck and then two from
Khalid Johnson, cutting the Lion lead to two at 17-15. A 6-0 LMU run would push the lead back to eight before
Jackson Gion hit a three, then a free throw, to make it a four-point game with 6:44 left in the half.
In the end, that would be as close as Sonoma would get as Loyola Marymount would hit the break with a 39-27 lead, steadily building it to the 30-point final margin throughout the second half.
Luke Cochran was 4-for-5 from the field, finishing with eight points and four rebounds. Gion led the way with nine points while Fleck added eight
Stephen Dorsey earned team-high honors with seven rebounds.
Sonoma hit just 15 of 51 shots (29.4%) from the field, including 5 of 22 from three-point territory.
The Seawolves will head to UC Irvine for another exhibition contest on Saturday.
