BIMINI, Bahamas – Despite a 12-0 run to open the game, LMU men's basketball (2-4) was unable to hand Duquesne (6-0) their first loss of the season. Despite it being a one-possession game at the half, the Dukes made a series of runs to win, 71-50, and finish the 2019 Junkanoo Jam with three wins.
 
Making his first career start, Keli Leaupepe scored a pair of baskets in the paint to give LMU an immediate lift. At 9-0, Duquesne was forced to call a timeout, and LMU followed up a missed Duke's shot with an Eli Scott and-1 in the paint. Leaupepe scored nine points in the game and grabbed four rebounds.
 
An 11-0 run by Duquesne later in the half gave the Dukes their first lead, up 23-20, with 4:08 on the clock.
 
Erik Johansson knocked down a triple to tie the game at 23-all. The senior then scored the final points of the half with another three to cut the deficit to 28-26, as part of a perfect first half of shooting. Johansson went into the locker room 4-for-4 from the field, including three threes, for 11 points in the opening half and finished the game as LMU's leading scoring after taking just one shot in the second half.
 
The three-point shooting trends went in opposite directions in the second half. LMU went from 50 percent (3-for-6) in the first 20 minutes to 22.2 percent (2-for-9) after the break. Duquesne responded to 28.6 percent (4-for-14) long range shooting in the first half to jump to 53.3 percent (8-for-15) following halftime.
 
Eli Scott put in back-to-back baskets that separated a 13-0 Dukes run from a 10-0 run, to give Duquesne a 60-37 lead with just over seven minutes remaining. Scott joined Johansson in double digits with his 10/4/4 outing.
 
Jordan Bell came on late in the game added seven points on 3-for-5 shooting.
 
The Lions leave the Junkanoo Jam with a 1-2 record, after defeating Air Force on Thursday, and earn third place in the tournament.

Eli Scott earned All-Tournament team honors for the 2019 Junkanoo Jam after leading LMU with 12.3 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, and 5.3 assists per game, all while shooting 63.6 percent from the field. In LMU's win over Air Force on Thursday, Scott broke the tournament record with a nine assist performance to help lift the Lions to victory. On Friday, Scott posted his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 57 percent or better in all three games and let the team in minutes played.

LMU will return to the Bluff for a home game against Southern Utah in a week's time. The Dec. 1 game is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m.