LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 12th-ranked UC San Diego men's water polo team played even with 10th-ranked Loyola Marymount for most of the first-half but fell to the Lions by a 9-4 score in front of 1, 531 fans at Canyonview Pool on Thursday night.  After trailing 3-1 after the first quarter, Steven Donohoe's goal at the 3:26 mark tied the game at 3-3.  LMU went on to outscore the Tritons 5-1 in the second half to earn the victory.  Daniel Garcia scored his team-leading 31st and 32nd goals of the season for the Tritons.  For the first time since October of 2005, a UCSD vs. LMU match-up was not decided by a one goal margin, a span of four contests.  UCSD drops to 7-6, while the Lions improve to 5-6.

After LMU took the 3-1 lead in the first quarter, the Tritons' Sean Roberts scored at the 6:06 mark, cutting the deficit to one score.  Donohoe tied the game at 3-3 with 3:26 remaining in the quarter.  LMU's Tim Hummel scored his second goal of the game on the Lions' last possession before halftime, giving the Lions a 4-3 lead at halftime.

After LMU's Rory Kelly scored in the third, UCSD came back within one score again, this time on a strike by Garcia, his second of the game with 4:54 left in the third.  LMU scored at the 4:07 and 1:45 marks to take a 7-4 advantage through three.

While the Tritons struggled to score in the fourth, LMU added two more scores by Andrew Aki and Mark Milovic to close out the scoring at 9-4 LMU.

The Lions and Tritons have another match-up scheduled for Oct. 27 at 12:00 p.m. in Los Angeles.

UCSD is back in action on Saturday with two games in Claremont.  The Tritons take on Claremont at 11:00 a.m. and Pomona Pitzer at 2:30 p.m.