SAINT LOUIS, Mo – LMU Men's Basketball was unable to erase an 18-point second half deficit, despite closing the gap to six points in the team's first road game of the season. Saint Louis held off the Lions to hold on for a 77-71 win Saturday night at Chaifetz Arena.
 
Will Johnston scored a season-high and led all scorers with 27 points, including 17 after intermission.
 
Myron Amey, Jr. scored a layup in the opening minute to give LMU the team's only lead of the first half. Amey finished with 11 points.
 
Early three pointers by Johnston and Alex Merkviladze pulled the Lions back within one early in the contest, after Saint Louis' first three baskets were made threes. Merkviladze went 3-for-4 from long range in the game to finish with 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
 
LMU used a 7-0 run over the span of 4:22 late in the first half to turn a nine-point deficit into a two-point game with 3:38 to play, 30-28. Aaron McBride's block on the defensive end and layup on the offensive end of the court started the run.
 
The Billikens closed the half on a 12-2 run from that point, including 12 unanswered until Caleb Stone-Carrawell hit a fallaway jumper to stop the run and close out the half with LMU trailing 42-30.
 
Saint Louis hit seven first half threes at a 50 percent clip and opened the second half with back-to-back threes to push their lead to 18 points with just over 18 to play.
 
The Lions responded with the next seven points beginning with Amey's three to bring the score down to 48-37.
 
A personal 5-0 spurt from Johnston leading into the midway point of the second half brought LMU back to down 11.
 
Merkviladze followed suit and put together a 5-0 run of his own, with his three at 3:29 cutting the deficit to eight for the first time since the final minutes of the first half. Porter followed with a jumper to bring the Lions within six, 68-62, with 2:41 remaining. All nine of Porter's points came in the second half.
 
Johnston scored the last nine points for the Lions, all coming in the final minute of play to keep the deficit in single digits.
 
The Lions finished with 10 made threes on 29 attempts (34.5 percent), with SLU only hitting one more when all was said and done to cfinish at 11-for-29.
 
Aaron McBride recorded a career-high five blocks to go along with four points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
 
The Lions will host North Dakota on Friday, Nov. 22, back at Gersten Pavilion. The game will tip off at 7:00 PM.
 
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