Box Score Feb. 11, 2017

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

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

LOS ANGELES - LMU men's basketball used an unrelenting full court press to force Portland into 30 turnovers on 19 steals, earning a 66-60 win over the Pilots in West Coast Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

Brandon Brown and Buay Tuach each scored 18 points as the Lions outscored Portland 27-14 in points off turnovers. Tuach led the Lions (12-13, 5-9) with five steals while Brown and Munis Tutu had four each. The Lions were three short of the Gersten Pavilion record of 22 steals held by two teams and the program record of 24 steals set against Portland in 1991.

Rashad Jackson had 15 points to lead Portland (9-17, 2-12).

The Lions started the game shooting just 1-for-12 and trailed 12-4 with 11:11 to play. LMU would then go on an 11-0 run fueled by four steals and five Portland turnovers to take a 15-12 lead. The Lions would close the half going 11-for-18 from the field and led 32-26 at the break.

LMU stretched the lead to as many as 14, 52-38, with 8:36 to play. The Lions struggled from the field, hitting 37.9 percent from the field, and Portland used that to cut the lead down to three, 59-56, with 2:47 to play. They would get no closer as Brown would go perfect from the free throw line in the game, hitting all eight of his attempts.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• After going 1-for-12 from the field, the Lions overcame the poor shooting in the first 10 minutes with defense. In the first half, the Lions forced Portland into 17 turnovers on 12 steals, outscoring them 20-4 in points off turnovers. Tutu had all four of his steals in the first half. For the game, the teams combined for 51 turnovers and 46 fouls.

• The Lions finished with 21 more shot attempts than the Pilots, hitting 22-for-58 (37.9 percent) compared to 16-for-37 for the Pilots (43.2 percent). Portland, however, went 24-for-27 from the free throw line while LMU was 13-for-21. LMU held Portland to just 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) from three while hitting 9-for-25 themselves (36 percent).

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"That was our best defense effort this year, by far," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "You are not going to see too many games where you force a team into 30 turnovers. I was very proud of our defense effort from the entire roster. Everyone contributed today."

"We did a good job covering the three ball tonight, holding them to just four. It wasn't a pretty game from an offensive standpoint, but it was good enough to get the win. We had everyone contribute to the win and this is the style of play we want to bring to LMU. Lots of running and tough defense."

GAMEDAY PHOTOS

UP NEXT

Men's basketball will take a one-game road swing to No. 20 Saint Mary's on Thursday, Feb. 16. Tip-off is set for 8 pm. Fans can watch the game live from the Bowlero Watch Party. Check-out the game in an exclusive LMU zone with drink and food specials, along with $11 all night bowling when you mention "LMU". The Bowlero Watch Party is at the Los Angeles Bowlero off Lincoln Blvd.

----

For tickets: