MELBOURNE, Australia – Following two come-from-behind wins in Australia, Loyola Marymount was unable to complete the trifecta against the reigning national champions of the NBL. The Lions fell to Melbourne United Thursday night, 100-80, at the Casey Center in front of a sold out crowd.
Despite LMU's 50 percent (16-for-32) in the first half, United's mark of 68 percent (17-for-25) in the opening two quarters put LMU in another early hole.
The Lions came out of the locker room and cut the deficit to four, 58-54, on an
Erik Johansson triple in the corner, forcing a Melbourne timeout with 3:31 on the clock. United built their lead back up to 10 at the end of the quarter, taking a 65-55 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play.
The lead opened back up in the fourth as United pulled away for the win, shooting 68 percent for the game (32-for-47) compared to LMU's 47 percent (29-for-62).
The Lions were again led by
James Batemon's scoring. The senior totaled 15 points to lead the team.
Mattias Markusson hit the double-figure mark with 10, with
Zafir Williams and
Jordan Bell finishing a point behind the Swedish center with nine apiece.
The balanced scoring continued as
Dameane Douglas and
Erik Johansson contributed eight points each,
Jeffery McClendon and
Eli Scott each added seven, and
Donald Gipson put in six.
The Lions finished with a winning record of 2-1 in three games in Melbourne, and will fly out of Melbourne early Friday morning and head to Cairns for the remainder of the trip.
