LINKS: Basketball Ticket Information | #LIONSTRONG | Give to LMU Athletics | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter

LOS ANGELES - As the only game in the country on Monday in NCAA basketball, LMU stepped up their defensive pressure to claim a 70-49 victory over Morgan State at Gersten Pavilion Monday night. The Lions (7-4) held Morgan State (3-9) to their lowest point total of the season in the final tune-up before West Coast Conference action begins.

Buay Tuach had the Lions' second straight double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, the first of his career. Steven Haney Jr. led all scorers with a season-high 24 points, adding three rebounds, four assists and two steal. Stefan Jovanovic added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Phillip Car led Morgan State with a career-high 22 points with 10 rebounds.

The Lions held Morgan State to 34.5 percent from the field (20-for-58) while hitting 42.1 percent from the field (24-57) themselves. The Lions finished the game with nine steals, forcing 14 turnovers and won the battle in points off turnovers, 19-9.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• The Lions won the rebound battle 39-34, outscoring Morgan State 26-12 in the points and 15-13 in second chance points. LMU improves to 6-0 win out-rebounding their opponent and 7-2 when outscoring them in the paint.

• LMU had just three turnovers in the second half, resulting in a 10-2 edge in point off turnovers after halftime. Tuach's 10 rebounds was a career-best.

• Jovanovic continues his hot stretch. He scored double-digits for the seventh straight game and in that stretch he is 45-for-61 from the field, good for 73.7 percent. He was 7-for-9 on Monday.

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"We held them under 35 percent from the field and under 50 points," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "We only turned the ball over three times in the second half. We did what we needed to do to put ourselves in the position to win."

"We also got a chance to work against the zone. This game was just what the doctor ordered for us. We showed that we can win against different situations and that is huge for us. We also got a chance to play Haney at the four and it created mis-matches. It was able to get him going and we needed that."

GAMEDAY PHOTOS

UP NEXT

The Lions four-game homestand over the holidays continues when they begin West Coast Conference action against Saint Mary's on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 8 pm. The Lions will then follow that with the WCC Game of the Week against BYU on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 pm. Get a special package rate of just $50 for both games. Get tickets here:

To get tickets, including special Year-End packages click BUY TICKETS.