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LOS ANGELES - Teams from the major conferences don't make many trips to Gersten Pavilion, just over 20 since 1984. But when they do, they are memorable. And Thursday night's match-up between LMU and UConn was just that Brandon Brown's three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark, giving the Huskies a late 65-62 win.

The game featured seven ties and 16 lead changes. LMU led for 18:18 while the Huskies led for 15:46. The game was tied for 5:29. It would come down to the final minutes as the Huskies' Terry Larrier gave UConn the lead for good with 2:22 to play on a lay-up. They would hit two free throws by Jalen Adams to make it a three-point lead with 20 seconds to play.

LMU's Brown got a good look thanks to one extra pass but the shot hit off the side of the iron.

Kelvin Amayo led the Lions (1-2) with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Buay Tuach added 12 and Brown chipped in 10. Larrier led UConn (1-2) with 14 and Amida Brimah had nine points and 10 rebounds.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• Defense was a key as the Lions forced UConn into 13 turnovers on 10 steals. They finished with a 15-6 edge in points off turnovers, helping them erase a 10-point first half deficit. The Lions trailed 32-22 with 5:46 to play in the first half, but closed on a 12-2 run to tie it at the half.

• LMU led for most of the second half, taking a 50-44 lead on a Tuach three-pointer with 12:06 to play. From there the game would feature four ties , the first at 54-54 thanks to a 10-4 run by UConn. The sixth tie was at 58-58 when the Lions tied it when Amayo hit one of two free throws. They tied it again at 61-61 when Brown went 1-of-2 from the free throw line. LMU's Tuach would go 1-for-2 from the line to give them a 62-61 lead to set-up Larrier's game winner.

• Missed free throws hurt the Lions. They finished 14-for-22 from the line, going 6-of-10 in the second half with all four misses coming in the final six minutes.

• Both defenses were tough as LMU held UConn to 42.6 percent from the field while the Lions shot just 38.9 percent.

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"Free throws is what cost us the game," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "They are easy baskets and we didn't take advantage. We had control of our own destiny but we didn't put the game away by missing our free throws."

"We had some good things to carry from this. We held a great program under 70 points, carried the lead for most the second half and played great team defense," said Dunlap. "But we have to take advantage of the free ones."

GAMEDAY PHOTOS

UP NEXT

The Lions will have eight days off after a three games in the opening week of the season. They will host Portland State on Friday, Nov. 25 at 7 pm. The game will be part of a Thanksgiving tripleheader as the women's team will host the LMU Thanksgiving Classic.

TICKETS

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