Jan. 24, 2009

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Los Angeles, CA - Loyola Marymount freshman Kevin Young had a career-best 21 points to go with 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season against the 23rd-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in West Coast Conference action on Saturday night. It was the Lions fourth ranked opponent of the season as the Zags posted a 93-60 win in front of 3,796 at Gersten Pavilion.

Young went 10-for-12 from the free throw line and had six offensive rebounds as he was the game's leading scorer. He added four steals in 38 minutes. Vernon Teel added 12 points and Jarred DuBois had 11, all in the second half. Matt Bouldin led the Zags with 18 points and Austin Daye put in a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.

"Before the game we told them we have to keep working, grind to the end and maybe good things will happen," said Head Coach Max Good. "Gonzaga has size, depth, talent and really took it to us. This is a team that beat Tennessee twice, should have beat Gonzaga and has one of the best teams in their history. They are really good."

The Lions got down early as the Zags led 43-17 at the break, hitting 16-for-32 from the field in the first frame. Gonzaga finished with a season-high 12 three-pointers, hitting 44.4 percent. They finished shooting 49.2 percent (32-for-65). LMU went for 25 percent (16-for-64).

LMU, however, didn't give up, scoring 43 second half points, the most points in a half all season for the Lions. They used their defense to get their offense going, forcing Gonzaga into 17 turnovers while earning 10 steals, also a season-high for the Lions.

"In the first half we were trying to do too much one-on-one and win the game individually. You can't do that against any team, let alone Gonzaga," said Good. "In the second half we started to share the ball a lot better, kept playing hard on defense and it led to us scoring 43 points. We really played much more controlled in the second half."

The Lions will finish the first half of conference play on the road when they head to the bay area, staring with Santa Clara on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. The game can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and LMULions.com.