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LOS ANGELES - As they have shown all season, LMU men's basketball made their opponent earn it, especially with yet another second half push. However, it wasn't enough as the Lions fell to No. 19 Saint Mary's, 72-60, in the West Coast Conference opener on Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion.

Trailing by as many as 11 early, the Lions managed to cut the lead to one with just over 11 minutes to play, 42-41, on a Kelvin Amayo lay-up. However, the efficient Gaels answered with a big three-pointer and the Lions got no closer.

Trevor Manuel had a career-high 18 points off the bench, hitting all four of his three-pointers in 22 minutes. Brandon Brown added 11 points for the Lions, who shot just 35.6 percent but generated 19 more shots than the Gaels. The Lions forced Saint Mary's into a season-high 19 turnovers on nine steals and held a 19-8 edge in points off turnovers.

Saint Mary's, who had four players in double figures, finished the game an efficient 23-for-40 from the field (57.5 percent) and 6-for-12 from three. Emmett Naar had 19 points and five assists while Jock Landale had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• Saint Mary's out-rebounded the Lions 38-26 and had a 34-18 edge in points in the paint.

• LMU was called for 25 fouls to Saint Mary's 16, which equated to a 33 to 17 edge in attempts at the free throw line. Saint Mary's, who entered the game 17th in the nation in free throw shooting at over 77 percent for the season, hit 20-for-33 (60.6 percent) while the Lions ht 11-for-17 (64.7).

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"Our physical effort was extraordinary and our push back at the 11-minute mark put us down one. We came back with a lot of grit," said Dunlap. "We were able to get to the free throw line more in the second half. The game really pivoted on why they are 11-1 and inside the top-20, they made those key plays and we didn't. It could have been a missed shot, a loose ball, a rebound, or whatever, but they are very good at coming up with those."

GAMEDAY PHOTOS

UP NEXT

The Lions complete their four-game homestand over the holidays with the WCC Game of the Week on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 1 pm against BYU. To get tickets, including special Year-End packages click BUY TICKETS.