LOS ANGELES – In front of a sellout crowd of 4,213 fans, the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team gave third-ranked Gonzaga a scare for over 35 minutes of competitive, tight basketball. The Bulldogs (24-2, 11-0) ended the game on a 13-2 run to pull away and defeat the Lions (17-9. 5-7), 73-60.

"We beat them in the paint and we pounded them on second chance points," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "There is a lot there. So far nobody in our league's been able to play them the way we've played them. It's another step for our team to build on."

The Lions scored on the opening tip and carried the energy of the crowd early. Mattias Markusson pushed the lead to five with an and-1 at the 16:01, his seventh points in the first four minutes. He led the way with 11 at the half.
 
Gonzaga responded with a 10-0 run of their own to take their first lead of the game, 16-11, with 11:12 in the first half.
 
LMU later went on a 7-0 run to put the Lions back on top with the first half winding down. The Lions trailed by just a point, 32-31, at the half after limiting Gonzaga to just 32.1 percent (9-for-28) shooting in the first twenty minutes.
 
Gonzaga hit a pair of threes to open the second half, jumping ahead 38-31 and forcing an LMU timeout. Out of the timeout, Eli Scott hit four-straight points to bring it back down to a one-possesion game. Scott scored 11 points, with six rebounds and five assists.
 
LMU started the game 0-for-9 from three before Joe Quintana capped a 7-0 with the team's first of the game, putting the Lions ahead 54-53. Despite shooting a season-low 7.1 percent (1-for-14) from distance, the Lions remained in the game. Dameane Douglas started the run with consecutive paint buckets off Scott assists. Douglas led the team with 13 points and added five rebounds.
 
The two teams continued to trade baskets until Gonzaga went on a 9-0 run, that pushed to a 13-2 run over the final 4:49 to close out the game.

James Batemon finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Petr Herman put together his third-straight solid game with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting and five assists.
 
The biggest advantage for the Lions was the 18-2 advantage on second chance points and committing only five turnovers. LMU stayed tight despite the three point shooting percentage, the Bulldogs going 21-for-22 (95.5 percent) from the free throw line, and Gonzaga shooting 46 percent from the field compared to LMU's 37.9 percent (25-for-66).
 
The Lions will be back at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday to take on the league's second place team, BYU, at 1 p.m.