Box Score Feb. 23, 2017

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LOS ANGELES - Behind a defense that created opportunities for a 19-8 edge in points off turnovers, LMU men's basketball erased a 10-point second half deficit to earn a 53-51 win over San Francisco in the final home game of the 2016-17 season.

Steven Haney Jr. scored 18 points while Trevor Manuel came off the bench to score 10 points with a pair of blocks to give the Lions (14-14, 7-10) back-to-back wins in West Coast Conference play for the first time this season. Jordan Ratinho was the only Don (19-11, 9-8) in double figures with 13 points.

It was a defensive affair from start to finish as the Lions finished shooting just 29.1 percent from the field (16-for-55) while holding USF to 35.7 percent. The Lions hit just eight field goals in each half and managed to score a season low 22 points in the first half to trail by five to open the second frame.

With the first five points of the second half, USF took a 32-22 lead with 17:48 to play on a free throw by Nate Renfro. As they have all season, the Lions' defense stepped up and would hold USF without a field goal for more than seven minutes to cut the lead to three, 36-33.

After a Remu Raitanen three-pointer gave USF a six-point lead with 11:47 to play, LMU would hold USF without a point for more than four minutes to propel a 12-0 run, giving LMU a 45-39 lead after a Haney three-pointer and a free throw from Petr Herman.

Defense and free throws kept the lead for LMU. USF managed to cut the lead to one twice, 49-48 and again at 52-51, but LMU's defense generated four stops combined in those situations to earn the win. They would finish 17-for-28 from the free throw line (60.7 percent) compared to just 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) for USF.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• It was the 12th game this season that came down to the final 10 seconds and the Lions improved to 5-7 in those games. They are 3-3 in one-point games and this was the first two-point result.

• USF entered the game ranked 34th in the nation with nearly 10 three-pointers per game. The Lions held them to 6-for-28 from three (21.4 percent). LMU was 4-for-18 (22.2 percent).

• In erasing the five-point halftime deficit, it was the first time in conference play the Lions have won when trailing at half. The 51 points allowed is tied for the season low, holding Vanguard to 51 in the first game of the season. It was the 14th time this season the Lions held an opponent under 70 points, improving to 11-3 in those games. They also improve to 13-2 on the season when holding opponents to under 45 percent from the field.

FROM COACH DUNLAP

"The fight or push back of this team has been the strength of these guys all season," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "This is a very easy team to coach because everyone has ownership. They are all on the same page and have no quit. Our defensive effort tonight was outstanding."

"Our defensive stops and holding them to 20 percent from three was key. When you can win a game shooting 29 percent, that is hard to do. We won because of our defense. We took them out of what they wanted to do and controlled the tempo."

"Some irony to tonight was free throws. We have struggled with that and, while not great, we won the free throw disparity tonight. That is a huge point for us and that really helped us win."

GAMEDAY PHOTOS

UP NEXT

The Lions close the 2016-17 season at Pacific on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 pm. The game can be seen on TheW.tv and heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.