LOS ANGELES – USF's quest for its 20th win of the season will have to wait until Saturday after the Dons dropped a 53-51 decision to Loyola Marymount Thursday night in Gersten Pavilion.
 
Despite limiting the Lions to 29.1 percent shooting from the floor, the Dons could not hold onto a 10-point second half lead and fell to 19-11 on the season and 9-8 in the West Coast Conference. The Lions evened their overall record at 14-14 and improved to 7-10 in conference play.
 
Jordan Ratinho was the only USF player to reach double figures with 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Steven Haney led all scorers with 18 points while Trevor Manuel added 10. USF's Nate Renfro was credited with five blocks on the night.
 
The Dons shot just 35.7 percent for the game, including 21.4 percent from long distance. USF had a slight edge on the boards, 43-38, but were harassed into 15 turnovers which led to 19 points for the Lions. LMU also knocked down 17-of-28 free throws, while USF made just five of its 11 charity tries.
 
USF got off to a solid start in the game. Early three-pointers by Ratinho and Frankie Ferrari helped USF to a 14-4 lead at 14:22 of the first half. The Dons limited the Lions to 28.6 percent shooting in the first half and managed to take a 27-22 lead into break, marking the 18th time in 30 games this season USF has led at halftime.
 
The Dons scored the first five points of second half to boost their lead back to 10 at 32-22. With USF leading 39-33 with 11:47 remaining, LMU went on a 12-0 run to take a 45-39 lead with 7:22 left. LMU tied the game at 39 when Haney completed a three-point play and Trevor Manuel's lay-in on the Lions' next possession gave LMU its first lead of the game with 9:29 left.
 
The Dons drew to within one point at 49-48 with 1:24 left. The Lions tuned the ball over on their next possession but Ratinho misfired on a three-pointer off an inbounds play. Manual was fouled on the rebound and made both free throws to give LMU a 51-48 lead with 32 seconds left.
 
On the Dons' next possession, Ronnie Boyce couldn't connect on a game-tying three-pointer and his miss was gathered by Kelvin Amayo, who was fouled on the rebound by Chase Foster. After Amayo made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Lions a 52-48 lead, Ratinho gave the Dons life with a three-pointer that cut the lead to 52-51 with 14.5 left.
 
The Dons then fouled Haney, who made only one of his two free throws to make it 53-51, leaving the door open for the Dons with 8.9 left. USF put the ball in the hands of Ratinho, who drove the length of the floor but missed a contested layup which would have tied the game with one second remaining.
 
USF doesn't have a lot of experience of playing in close games this season, as only seven of the Dons' previous 29 games had been decided by 10 points or less. USF had played just three, one possession games prior to tonight. LMU, on the other hand, has had 11 of its games this season decided in the last 11 seconds.
 
"We just need to make shots," said head coach Kyle Smith after the game. "Their pressure got to us a bit and took us out of some things, but we had plenty of good looks. We knew it would be a tough game.
 
"We haven't been in a lot of close games this season and I don't think a team learns much by losing, but hopefully there were some lessons learned tonight."
 
The Dons will return to action Saturday afternoon to face the Pepperdine Waves in the WCC's Game of the Week. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.