LOS ANGELES – LMU men's basketball played their lone exhibition of the season, and took care of UC San Diego, 57-44, in front of a home crowd for the first time since Head Coach Stan Johnson was hired.
 
Eli Scott opened the scoring with a cut-to-the-basket layup, giving LMU the first points of the game.
 
The Lions used an 11-0 run that was bookended by two more layups from Scott and included baskets from Cam Shelton, Joe Quintana, and Jalin Anderson. The run was matched with a defensive stop that kept the Tritons scoreless for over six minutes of play and pushed LMU ahead 17-13.
 
A 5-0 run to close the half gave LMU a 25-20 lead at intermission.
 
UCSD scored seven unanswered to tie the game at 28-all with 14:20 to play. Lamaj Lewis put an end to the run with back-to-back buckets.
 
Lewis' two baskets sparked a longer 18-4 run over a 6:52 span that pushed LMU ahead by 14 points. The freshman finished with 11 points.
 
The Lions ended the game with a Quentin Jackson, Jr. jumper to lock in the final score at 57-44.
 
Eli Scott led all scorers with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting and eight rebounds. Anderson added 11 points as well.
 
The regular season will officially start on Tuesday as LMU hosts University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.