WCC: GONZAGA HAS ENOUGH `MO' OVER LMU GONZAGA 79, LMU 70.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison took an important shot in the first half Saturday. An injection, actually, a dose of insulin he self-administered, while seated on the bench, to help control his diabetes.

Then, in the second half, Morrison stuck the proverbial needle in Loyola Marymount.

Morrison, a candidate for national player-of-the-year honors in college basketball, scored 37 of his career-high 44 points in the second half as the Bulldogs got all they could handle from Loyola Marymount but pulled away late for a 79-70 victory in front of 4,482 at LMU's Gersten Pavilion.

No. 5 Gonzaga (22-3, 11-0) clinched the West Coast Conference regular- season title with the victory over the second-place Lions (11-14, 8-3) but the Bulldogs needed everything Morrison could give them.

LMU, which held a 10-point first-half lead, was up 61-59 with six minutes left. From there, Morrison outscored the Lions by himself, 16-9, with a ridiculous array of shots from various distances and angles.

``He's a fiery, fiery competitor,'' Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. ``His greatest attribute is not that he makes shots, it's how hard he competes. When the game got tight, he was there. That was vintage Mo.''

At halftime, with Gonzaga facing a 37-33 deficit, Morrison had just seven points and, frustrated by some intense perimeter defense from the Lions, had taken only six shots. But Morrison made his first four shots to start the second half and never let up, as he recorded his fifth 40-point game of the season.

``I got a wide-open three to start the second half and then I got going,'' Morrison said. ``Shots going down and it was one of those deals where I felt like I was on fire, so I was going to keep shooting from 35 (feet) and testing the waters. It's not just myself, but when somebody's on fire we get them the ball.''

Other than Morrison's effort, it was a fairly dreadful afternoon for the Bulldogs, who committed a season-high 25 turnovers and got just six points from top post player J.P. Batista, who also had as many turnovers (seven) as rebounds. Morrison was the only Bulldog to score in double figures.

Gonzaga did outrebound LMU 23-14 in the second half.

``There just weren't many opportunities,'' LMU coach Rodney Tention said. ``We did a good job in frustrating Batista (but) with Morrison on fire, there just wasn't a chance for us to get many boards.''

Give some credit to the Lions. Leading scorer and rebounder Matthew Knight had an off day, with 10 points and four rebounds, but LMU got an inspired effort from junior guard Brandon Worthy.

Worthy, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists helped the Lions to a 33-23 lead with three minutes left in the first half. The Lions held a slim lead until midway through the second half.

Worthy also contributed to LMU's last big moment. With 6:16 left, Worthy made a layup and was fouled hard from behind. Worthy appeared to hit his head on the ground, and had to leave the game, but a free throw by substitute John Montgomery made the free throw to put LMU up 61-59.

But then Morrison made consecutive 3-pointers, and it was all Gonzaga from there, as LMU was thwarted in its attempt to beat a ranked opponent for the first time since the 1990 NCAA Tournament.

``We just had to slow things down and take care of the ball,'' Morrison said. ``We are pretty confident in our offense, as long as we don't give the ball to the other team.''

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

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LMU's Brandon Worthy scored 22 points, but had to be assisted off the court after getting fouled hard late in the Lions' loss.

Danny Moloshok/Associated Press