Box Score Nov. 13, 2015 Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
LOS ANGELES - LMU men's basketball opened the 2015-16 season with a 79-74 win over Cal State Fullerton at Gersten Pavilion on Friday night. Junior Adom Jacko scored 22 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Lions to their fifth straight win to start a season.
Jacko earned a double-double in his first game as a Lion, which hasn't been done by a Lion in their first game in at least 15 seasons. Three others joined him in double figures, including 14 points from Brandon Brown, 13 from Steven Haney and 10 from Marin Mornar.
Malcolm Brooks, a Pepperdine transfer, led the Titans (0-1) with 16 points and Kennedy Esume had six points and 19 rebounds.
"We will learn how to carry a lead," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "I was pleased with how we stayed within ourselves when it got physical down the stretch."
The Lions (1-0) finished the game shooting just 34.7 percent, but 17 offensive rebounds and 18 created turnovers by the Titans gave the Lions 15 more shot attempts than the Titans. The Lions finished 25-for-72 from the field while Cal State Fullerton was 27-for-57.
"We did a great job on the offensive glass and we took care of the ball," said Dunlap. "You don't win many games when you shoot 35 percent. But you give yourself a chance when you take care of the ball."
The Lions finished with just 10 turnovers and held a 17-7 edge in points off turnovers.
The first half was tight throughout and the Titans held a 28-24 lead with 7:24 to play. Over the next six-plus minutes, the Lions went on a 16-1 run to take control. Jacko's lay-up with 54 seconds left gave the Lions a 40-29 lead. They would lead 41-31 a the break.
The Lions struggled to score the start the second half and the Titans cut the lead to one, 54-53, with 7:51 to play. Four straight free throws, two from Jacko and two from Brown pushed the lead back to five.
LMU stretched the lead to seven on two more Brown free throws, making it 74-67 with :52 seconds to play. However, CSUF wasn't done as Tre' Coggins scored five straight points and then the Titans make it 75-74 with 22 seconds to play.
Senior David Humphries was fouled right away and he hit both free throws. The Lions got a stop on the next possession and Mornar iced it with two more at the charity stripe. The Lions went 7-for-8 from the free throws in the final minutes and finished 23-for-29.
LMU continues their opening weekend against the Big West Conference when they travel to 2015 Big West Champion UC Irvine on Sunday at 5 pm. Listen to the game live on KXLU 88.9 FM.
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