LOS ANGELES – LMU Men's Basketball opened the season with a statement performance on Monday night at home. The Lions led by as many as 47 points in the second half to stifle LIFE Pacific, 99-56, in the season opener.
 
The game opened with six lead changes in just over four minutes of action before Alex Merkviladze scored five unanswered points to put the Lions up for good. Merkviladze led the Lions with 22 points and nine rebounds.
 
The lead grew to double digits as Will Johnston found Myron Amey, Jr. for back-to-back threes just past the midway point of the first. Johnston dished out eight assists to surpass his high of last year of six in a game.
 
The Lions used a 9-0 run capped by another Amey triple to extend the lead to 18, 40-22, with 5:46 to play in the opening half. Amey finished with 20 points.
 
Caleb Stone-Carrawell started another 7-0 run with a knockdown there late in the half to lead the Lions with 14 points in the first 20 minutes of the season. LMU took a 52-31 lead into the locker room.
 
The Lions used 19-3 run to start the second half after scoring the first 13 points coming out of intermission.
 
The run expanded to 23-6 as Jovan Ristic hit a three in his first career minutes as a Lion. Amey, Jr.'s jumper in the lane pushed the lead over the 40-point mark, 78-37. That expanded into a larger 15-2 run to give LMU its largest lead of the game, 86-39.
 
Even as the Lions took the starters out, Aaron McBride, Jovan Ristic, and Kevin Carney all finished with career highs with 10, 5, and 3 points, respectively.

Matar Diop shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and grabbed six rebounds in his LMU debut.
 
LMU shot 54.2 percent (39-for-72) from the field and hit 12 of 30 threes for a 40.0 percent clip from long range.
 
Defensively, the Lions held the Warriors to 38 percent shooting (21-for-56) and scored 27 points off 20 LIFE Pacific turnovers. LMU recorded 12 steals with both Amey and Johnston leading the way with four apiece. LIFE Pacific just hit eight second half field goals and shot 29.6 percent after intermission.
 
Ten total players hit a field goal for the Lions in the win.

LMU will remain at home to host UC Irvine on Friday night at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions and Anteaters will tip-off at 7:00 PM.
 
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