GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands – LMU men's basketball cut a second-half 20-point deficit into just one, but were unable to pull in front of Oakland in the second game of the Cayman Islands Classic. The Golden Grizzlies outshot the Lions to take the game, 74-69.
 
Oakland jumped out to a 16-7 lead over the first seven minutes of play with Justin Wright scoring those first seven points for the Lions. Wright finished with 12 pointshi in the game.
 
LMU put together a 13-2 run in less than a five-minute span to take the lead for the first time in the game, 26-24. Wright added five points in that span, with Justice Hill knocking down a three and Lars Thiemann adding three more to his 11 total points.
 
The lead grew to as large as Dominick Harris hit a three and Alex Merkviladze made a layup with 4:28 remaining in the half.
 
The Golden Grizzlies closed out the first with an 18-4 run that pushed Oakland ahead, 44-35, at intermission.
 
Oakland extended their lead to as large as 20 in the second half. Will Johnston ended an 11-0 run with a corner three off an inbounds play. The Lions then put a 10-2 run of their own together, which included another Johnston triple.
 
LMU cut the deficit in half with a Johnston three at the 7:30 mark, then to single digits as the Australian hit a long two with 3:24 on the clock. Johnston finished with 22 points.
 
A 9-0 run put LMU back within a point with 49 seconds to play. The Lions went 7-for-7 from the free throw line in that stretch, including capitalizing on a Harris three-point play.
 
Oakland hit a turnaround jumper that kept it at a one-possession game with 25 seconds on the clock, but the Lions were unable to get the equalizer to fall.
 
LMU awaits the result of the evening games in the tournament but will close out the event Tuesday at 11:00 AM on the island (8:00 AM PT).
 
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