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LOS ANGELES - The cardiac Lions nearly did it again. LMU men's basketball, trailing the entire second half to UT Arlington and down nine with just over six minutes to play, had a chance at the tie and take the lead in the final minutes. However, the comeback would fall short as the Mavericks earned their ninth straight win, 80-77, at Gersten Pavilion on Thursday night.

Brandon Brown led all scorers with LMU's first double-double of the season, scoring 22 points with 11 assists, which was a career-high. Steven Haney Jr. and Stefan Jovanovic added 12 each for the Lions (6-4).

Four Mavericks (10-3) had double figures, including a double-double from Kevin Hervey, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jalen Jones had a team-high 15.

The Mavericks led for all of the second half but the Lions, who have erased deficits in each of their last four victories during their winning streak, had a chance at the buzzer.

The Lions trailed by nine, 72-63, with 6:30 to play and got hot from three. The finished with a season-best 12.

Erik Johansson's three-pointer with 3:45 left cut the lead to three, 75-72, and after Hervey's pair of free throws, Buay Tuach hit a three to make it 77-75 with 3:05 to play.

The Lions' defense held UTA without a field goal for nearly four minutes and had two possession to tie the game or take the lead. They, however, could not take advantage. Drew Charles hit a big three-pointer with 1:05 to play to make it 80-75.

Tuach scored on a lay-up with 50 seconds left to make it 80-77 and LMU would force a miss on the other end to get the ball back with a chance to tie. The Lions had a pair of chances. The first by Tuach was long and Haney found the loose ball and had a good look from the top of the key but it was on the front of the rim.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• UT Arlington, who is No. 24 in the latest RPI, came into the game leading the nation in three-point field goal defense. The Lions would hit a season-high 12-of-29 three-pointers (41.4 percent) while UTA went 7-for-24 (29.2 percent). Brown and Haney each hit four three-pointers.

• For the game, both teams combined to hit over 50 percent in the second half and were nearly identical in shooting. The Lions finished 15-for-27 in the half (55.6 percent) while UTA went 14-for-27 (51.9 percent). UTA finished 48.3 percent for the game (29-for-60) while LMU was 47.5 (29-for-61).

• UTA finished with a 40-31 edge on the boards and finished hitting 15-for-20 from the free throw line. THe Lions went 7-for-13 from the charity stripe.

• Six of the last eight games for the Lions have gone to the last possession. Brandon Brown has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games.

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"Free throws and rebounding really bit us tonight," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "Those were our biggest issues tonight. We once again played gutsy and came back right on top of them. Down two, we had two empty possessions. We had a chance but didn't score."

"This team knows how to push back and fight through adversity. We have do it all year," said Dunlap. "Now we need to start paying attention to the details. Playing with effort and will power has been the foundation of this team."

GAMEDAY PHOTOS

UP NEXT

Non-conference play concludes with the sixth annual LMU Holiday Classic against Morgan State on Dec. 26 at 5 pm. The game features free admission and $1 hot dogs. Parking is also free. The Lions then open conference play to close 2016. And it begins with two at the top as the Lions host Saint Mary's on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 8 pm and then BYU on the WCC Game of the Week on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 pm.