STOCKTON, Calif. – Scoring a team-high 19 points, and eclipsing the 1,000 career point mark, senior James Batemon helped lead the LMU men's basketball team to victory. The Lions (18-10, 6-8 WCC) won both halves to earn a 63-56 wire-to-wire win over Pacific (13-16, 3-11 WCC) in Saturday's WCC Game of the Week.
 
"We got our run game going and it relaxed us," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "Then they pushed back. Here at home, you expect to see a push back and I'm glad we withstood that. We push on to 18 victories and six wins in conference, and now we're trying to get number 19 and number seven on Thursday."
 
James Batemon opened the game with six consecutive points, a three and three free throws, to push LMU ahead early 6-0. A 7-1 Pacific run tied the score at 7-all, before back-to-back layups from Eli Scott pushed the Lions up four with 10:59 to play in the first. Scott had a complete game with nine points, seven assists, six rebounds, a block, and a steal.
 
Pacific tied the score at 13, but back-to-back threes by Zafir Williams and Erik Johansson started an 8-0 run and pushed LMU's lead to the largest of the first half at 21-13 with just over three minutes to play. Johansson matched his season-high with nine points.

Batemon scored 13 in the first half, but LMU's lead was just three, 26-23 heading into the break.
 
A 12-4 start to the second half pushed the LMU lead coming out of the break. Back-to-back Dameane Douglas layups extended the advantage the largest of the game, 16 points with 8:09 to play. A 15-3 response by the Tigers cut it back down to five points with 2:27 on the clock. Douglas joined Batemon in double figures with 11.
 
Williams knocked down a three to stop that run, then with 1:06 to play, Batemon finished in the paint of his 1,000^thcareer point in two LMU seasons. The senior added two free throws late to finish the night at 1,002 career and 19 on the day. Williams added eight points after going 2-for-3 from long range.
 
"He has shined for two years and he is one of the better players in our league," said Dunlap on Batemon. "It is a tribute to our assistants and their ability to recruit, and also a tribute to his family and what he's done. He's also going to get a degree and have a chance to play professionally. Now, what we want to do, and what James wants to do is to get to 20 wins and get to postseason play and push the bar a little higher for this program."
 
After a slow shooting first half for both teams, the second half saw better numbers across the board. LMU improved from 36.4 percent (8-for-22) from the first in the first half to 61.9 percent (13-for-21) in the second half and 48.8 percent (21-for-43) in the game. Pacific improved from 28 percent (7-for-28) in the opening 20 and shot 44.4 percent (12-for-27) after intermission.
 
The Lions dominated the paint, outscoring Pacific 32-14 in the key.
 
One week remains in the regular season. The final home game of the season is set for Thursday night against Santa Clara. Prior to tip, LMU's senior class, James Batemon, Petr Herman, and Jeffery McClendon will be recognized for their contributions to the program. The game is scheduled to tip at 8 p.m. on Spectrum Sportsnet.