MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (10-7, 1-1 WCC) will travel to Loyola Marymount this weekend for their third conference game of the season as they take on the Lions Saturday night. 

GAME INFORMATION
Game No. 18 vs. Loyola Marymount (13-3, 1-1 WCC)
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m. PST
Location: Gersten Pavilion (Los Angeles)
TV: https://watchstadium.com/live/saint-marys-at-loyola-marymount-14/
Radio: https://tunein.com/radio/Saint-Marys-IMG-Sports-Network-s280256/
Live stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=sanf
Gaels' all-time head to head record: 92-54 (Last meeting: 2/8/18, A, SMC 83 — LMU 62)

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
Loyola Marymount is coming off a 76-64 win over Portland at home and they currently hold a 13-3 overall record with their only three losses coming against UCLA, UC Riverside, and Pepperdine.

James Batemon leads the Lions' offense and is sixth in the WCC with 18.4 points per game. The 6-1 senior also leads in minutes played (35.3 per game) and is shooting over 83 percent from the free-throw line. Center Mattias Markusson leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 11.1 points per game.

As was the case against San Francisco, Saturday's contest will be a battle between a few of the WCC's top offenses and top defenses. The Lions come into action as the best 3-point defending team in the conference and 10th in the country at 27.6 percent while the Gaels are the best perimeter shooting team in the WCC at 39.3 percent.

Saint Mary's has dominated LMU in recent years, winning the last 13 matchups between the two teams and 24 of the last 25 contests dating back to 2007. Last season, the Gaels beat the Lions by 28 points in Moraga and by 21 in Los Angeles.

LAST TIME OUT: BYU
In a battle of the conference's top scorers, Jordan Ford bested BYU's Yoeli Childs as the Gaels' guard put up a game-high 23 points. The Folsom, Calif. native found himself in a precarious situation after picking up his fourth foul midway through the second half but remained disciplined to avoid fouling out and finished with 10-of-17 shooting and four dimes.

Malik Fitts was a major factor in the Gaels' defensive effort as the forward had a career-high four steals and collected nine defensive rebounds. Fitts was also the team's second-highest scorer with 18 points and knocked down three threes. For the fourth time in the past five games, Tanner Krebs reached double figures with 14 points and also grabbed seven boards in the win. Krebs scored the first seven points of the second half for Saint Mary's.

SMC's defense effectively stunted the potent Cougar attack, limiting BYU to shoot just 36 percent in the opening period and 40 percent on the night. A combination of Fitts and Dan Fotu held Yoeli Childs to only five points in the first half on 1-for-5 shooting.