Box Score | Photo Gallery

BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter

HONOLULU - LMU used a stingy defense and a double-digit rebounding advantage for the second straight game to claim a 72-69 win over DePaul in the final game of the 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at Stan Sherriff Center on Christmas morning.

With tip-off slated for 8:30 am Hawaii time, the Lions were right at home thanks to their normal early morning practices. Evan Payne led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 8-for-10 shots with four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Senior Ayodeji Egbeyemi concluded a strong tournament by equalling a career-high 20 points with two steals. Godwin Okonji had 13 points and five rebounds.

All five starters were in double figures for DePaul, including Billy Garrett with 16 points, hitting four of DePaul's 11 three-pointers.

"We once again played really solid defense and went after it on the glass," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "We settled into playing good defense the last two games and shot the ball much better today than the other night."

The Lions trailed by two at the half, 31-29, and saw DePaul stretch the lead to eight with 17:37 to go in the game. However, the Lions erased the lead thanks to a 63.2 percent shooting effort in the second half. The Lions hit 12-of-19 shots in the second frame and finished hitting 53.5 percent for the game. They held DePaul to 23-for-56 shooting from the field (41.1 percent).

"We settled into a rotation today and I was proud of Evan for bouncing back with a good effort from the field today, and for Godwin getting active offensively," said Dunlap. "Ayodeji was our leader. He is our captain and voice on the floor. He played very well and logged a lot of minutes for us."

Egbeyemi led the Lions with 16.3 points per game in the three Diamond Head games. He finished hitting 17-for-34 from the field and 14-for-16 from the free throw line.

Jamee Drocket hit a three-pointer for DePaul to make it 40-32 early in the second half. Payne matched the long ball the next possession, one of just three three-pointers from the Lions in eight attempts on the day.

Trailing 42-36, the Lions went on an 8-0 run to tie the game, 44-44, on a dunk from Marin Mornar with 12:30 to play. A Garrett three-pointer gave the Blue Demons the lead right back, 47-44.

LMU then scored the next six points as part of a 15-3 run that stretch their lead to 59-50 with 6:23 to play. A 9-2 run by the Blue Demons cut the lead to a pair, 61-59, on a Durrell McDonald three-pointer with 3:27 to play. LMU would score the next five points to keep the game at arms length.

"Turnovers plagued us throughout the tournament and its something we have to address moving forward," said Dunlap. "But our rebounding and defensive effort helped us overcome that."

The Lions out-rebounded DePaul 35-22 and had 11 offensive rebounds, including three in a stretch that gave the Lions nearly a two minute possession during their second half run. LMU finished with 17 turnovers to DePaul's 13, but held a 22-20 edge in points off turnovers.

LMU wraps up non-conference play and will head into West Coast Conference action, facing rival Pepperdine in the Wells Fargo PCH Cup showdown on Monday, Dec. 29 at 6 pm.