LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Playing without two key rotation players and for the third time in five days on the road, the Portland Pilots dropped a 70-58 decision to the Loyola Marymount Lions Monday night in West Coast Conference basketball action at Gersten Pavilion.

The Pilots (10-8, 1-2 WCC) were without Moses Wood (injury) and his 14.2 points per game and then reserve center Matheus Silveira left the court after just nine seconds in the first half with an ailment. Despite their absences, the Pilots jumped out to an early seven-point lead, but struggled to score at the end of the first half and into the beginning of the second period as the Lions (8-7, 1-2) pulled away.

Freshman forward Chika Nduka continued his stellar start to WCC play with his third straight game in double figures. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds and is now averaging 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field in league play.

Mike Meadows played all 40 minutes and finished with 16 points and three steals, while Chris Austin also had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Pilots struggled to 3-for-23 shooting from three-point range and were outrebounded by a 34-25 margin. The Lions also racked up a 31-0 edge in bench points

Portland's defense held strong early and then the offense began to flow with a 7-0 run capped by a Nduka three-point play to take an 11-9 lead. Nduka made a pair of free throws to give the Pilots their largest lead at 20-13, but LMU closed the half on a 15-6 run and took a 31-28 lead into the break.

The Lions then opened the second stanza with an 11-0 spurt including a pair of three-pointers from Kwane Marble. LMU extended the lead to 16 points at 48-32, before the Pilots stopped the surge with a pair of Meadows free throws and transition three-pointer from Austin.

Portland ran of gas as the Lions capitalized on second chance points and grew the margin to as much as 21 points late in regulation.

Marble led five Lions in double figures with 15 points off the bench, while Eli Scott added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Portland will return to action on Saturday at BYU for its fourth consecutive road game to open the WCC schedule. The game will be aired live on BYUtv with radio coverage on 910 ESPN Portland. The Pilots were previously scheduled to host San Francisco on Thursday, but will instead welcome the Dons to Chiles Center on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 5 p.m. Visit PortlandPilots.com for the most up-to-date schedule.