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LOS ANGELES - It was one of those nights that baskets were hard to come by for the LMU offense, and despite a defensive effort that forced 18 turnovers, it wasn't enough to overcome the shooting struggles. The result was a 69-62 setback to San Diego at Gersten Pavilion Thursday night.

The Lions finished the game shooting just 41 percent from the field, hit just 3-for-14 from three and was just 11-for-26 from the free throw line. San Diego finished the game hitting 50 percent from the field, hit 7-for-17 from three (41 percent) and was 18-for-25 from the charity stripe.

Kelvin Amayo scored 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting to lead the Lions (9-8, 2-5). Brandon Brown added 12 points. Brett Bailey led all scorers with 23 points for San Diego (10-9, 3-4).

Despite the shooting woes, the Lions' defense pushed yet another rally. The Lions managed to cut an 17-point second half deficit to four, 63-59, with 36 seconds left.

Cameron Neubauer hit a three-point with 13:47 to play for a 46-29 USD lead. LMU's full court pressure slowly cut into the lead, getting it to 50-43 thanks to a 14-4 run over a span of more than five minutes. With USD leading 62-49, the Lions went on a 10-1 run to cut the lead to 63-59 on a Brown lay-up with 38 seconds left. The Toreros hit their next four free throws to put the game away.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• The Lions would finish forcing the 18 turnovers on nine steals and outscored USD 16-13 on points off turnovers. They also outscored USD 42-28 in the paint and held an 11-10 edge in second chance points.

• USD held a 38-27 edge on the glass. LMU finished with 14 more field goals attempts than USD, hitting 24-for-58 while the Toreros went 22-for-44.

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"Can't play big league games, tough league opponents, and leave points on the floor like that. You can't play that hard and then miss free throws like that and win," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "I know it's a repetitive answer, but it is the elephant in the room. Missed free throws have haunt us. We work hard on free throws, every day, and it continues to haunt us."

"We woke-up and played Lion basketball in the second half, and I was very proud of our defensive effort and pressure. We took advantage of their foul trouble and really put pressure on them, but the missed free throws were like a turnover. I was so proud of their effort and their heart to keep fighting, and we had it down to four-five points, and again came away with some key misses."

UP NEXT

The Lions head to Santa Clara for the WCC Game of the Week on Saturday, Jan. 21. Game time is 1 pm.

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