Dec. 15, 2001

Final Stats

Los Angeles, Calif. (December 15) -- The Loyola Marymount University (LMU) men's basketball team saw their three-game winning streak come to an end as sophomore Kent Dennis' three-point rimed out and senior Greg Lakey's put back was just off at the buzzer in a 70-68 thriller at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday night in front of 2,280.

The Lions (5-4) built a 41-25 lead at the half thanks to sophomore Sherman Gay's three-pointer from half-court at the buzzer. However, UNLV stepped up its defensive pressure and finished with 16 steals compared to only one for the Lions. The Rebels (4-3), who earned their first win on the road in three tries, forced LMU into 16 second half turnovers. The Lions finished with a season high 24 in the game.

"It was a whale of a game," said Head Coach Steve Aggers. "It was a very tough loss. The ball was in the hand of the right guy (Kent) and he had a good look at the basket, but it didn't fall. We have improved a lot and I am very proud of how our team played tonight. We learned a lot and now we have to focus on Tuesday."

The Lions travel to Long Beach State to take on the 49ers on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

The Rebels, who were led by Dalron Johnson with 23 points, chipped away at the Lions lead and took their first advantage of the second half, 51-50, with a three-pointer by Lou Kelly at the 11:07 mark. The Rebels would get the lead to four on a bucket by Marcus Banks.

The Lions, however, would take a 57-55 lead again on a three-pointer by senior Robert Davis, who finished with 18 to lead the Lions of the bench, and a three-pointer by Dennis at 8:46 to play.

It would go back-and-fourth the remainder of the half with UNLV taking a five-point lead with three minutes to play, 68-63. Back would come the Lions, getting another three-pointer by Dennis, who finished with nine points, and a lay-up by Davis to tie the score at 68 with 46 seconds remaining.

Banks would split the Lions defense with 19 seconds remaining for a lay-up to give the Rebels the lead for good.

"The goal of this team is to learn and get better," said Aggers. "We did that tonight. A lot of our young players had the opportunity to play valuable minutes in crucial moments of the game. This was a good experience for us and we will grow from it."

Lakey finished with 15 for the Lions and sophomore Keith Kincade added 10.

-GO LIONS-