Dec. 18, 2004
Box Score
Los Angeles, CA (Dec. 18) - Loyola Marymount University men's basketball Head Coach Steve Aggers wasn't so sure what he would get from his team following a grueling finals week. Sophomore Matthew Knight provided a big answer with 30 points to lift the Lions to a 72-68 win over San Diego State at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday night.
LMU showed aftereffects of finals week with a sluggish first half, shooting just 33 percent. However, they turned the tempo in their favor thanks to running the offense through Knight to erase a two-point half-time deficit by shooting 50 percent from the floor.
The Lions finished hitting 28-for-66 from the field and improve to 6-2 on the season. San Diego State went 35.2 percent from the floor (19-for-54) while going 26-for-38 from the free throw line. LMU went 12-for-13 from the line as SDSU falls to 4-5.
"With finals, you aren't really sure what you are going to get. I was proud of our second half effort tonight," said Aggers. "The tempo was the key in the second half. We were able to get the tempo in our favor in the second half and we are better team at that quicker pace. We made some good adjustments at the half and felt if we could win the battle in the paint we would be effective."
Knight was effective for the Lions, hitting 13-of-21 shots with nine rebounds and a steal. He scored 20 of his points in the second half, going 7-for-10 in the second frame. "They seemed to play a style that I play well against and the guys made great passes," said Knight. "With the passes, I was able to hit easy lay-ups."
Also finishing in double figures for the Lions was senior Charles Brown with 13 and freshman Jon Ziri with a career-high 11. The Lions out-rebounded the Aztecs 45-34, including a plus-13 edge in the second half. "Rebounding was a real key to winning the battle in the paint," said Aggers. Junior Dustin Brown added nine boards for LMU.
San Diego State led throughout the first part of the second half, building the lead to as many as six with 17:47 remaining in the game. The Lions slowly chipped away at the deficit and finally took the lead with 13:26 remaining on a three-point play by Ziri as he hit a lay-up in transition and hit the free throw to make it 44-42.
The Aztecs would retake the lead by as many as three, 55-52, with 7:22 remaining on a lay-up by Marcus Slaughter, who led the Aztecs with 21 points while playing all 40 minutes. The Lions and Knight would not go away as the sophomore from Australia gave LMU the lead for good on another lay-up with 6:16 to play.
LMU stretched the to six, capping an 8-0 run with 5:10 remaining on a jumper by Charles Brown. The lead would drop to a pair with 3:00 remaining when Matt Thomas hit a lay-up. Brown and Knight traded field goals to grow the lead to 68-63 with 31 seconds remaining. LMU would go 4-for-4 from the line in final 16 seconds to win it.
The Lions close a home stand and will head on the road for their next five, which begins in Hamilton, NY, to take on Colgate on Dec. 21 at 4:00 p.m. (PST) The game can be heard on the Lions' Audio Network.
- GO LIONS -
