LOS ANGELES – Following a pregame ceremony that recognized and highlighted the achievements and careers of Parker Dortch, Mattias Markusson, and Eli Scott, LMU men's basketball played its final game at home this season. BYU (17-5, 8-3 WCC) jumped out early but the shorthanded Lions (11-7, 6-4 WCC) continued to battle until the final whistle before dropping the contest, 88-71.
 
The Lions used a late 15-0 run and closed the game with a 18-4 run over the final four minutes. LMU outscored BYU after intermission 46-41, after trailing by as many as 32 points. The 46 points in the second half is the most scored by the Lions in a half this season.
 
LMU cut the deficit to down to as low as 16 points in the second half following the run. Keli Leaupepe hit an old-fashioned three-point play in that stretch as part of his 15 points. Leaupepe finished with 15 points and six rebounds.
 
Ivan Alipiev shined in his 39 minutes of play, going 8-for-9 from the field and scoring 22 points.
 
BYU started with the first seven points before Jalin Anderson finished a layup for his first of 11 points on the night. The Cougars continued to shoot the ball well, and capitalized as LMU shot 28.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes to take a 47-25 lead.
 
LMU grabbed nine offensive rebounds, resulting in outscoring BYU 16-5 in second chance points.
 
 The Lions head on the road for the final week of the regular season, playing their only edition of the PCH Cup Thursday in Malibu and closing at the top-ranked team in the country, Gonzaga on Saturday.