LOS ANGELES – LMU men's basketball shot 55 percent from the field in the first half and never looked back in the 82-61 win over Oregon State in the first-ever West Coast Conference matchup between the two teams.
 
LMU scored the first eight points of the game. Will Johnston returned home with a pair of early layups and Alex Merkviladze knocked down a shot in the early goings.
 
After Oregon State got on the board, Johnston scored his sixth point in the opening four and a half minutes to push LMU ahead 10-2.
 
The Beavers used a 10-3 run to pull within a point. Jevon Porter hit both a three in the middle of the run and another one at to stop the run to keep LMU ahead.
 
Porter used his own 7-2 run midway through the half to push LMU up 28-21 with 8:41 to play. Porter led all scorers with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds, one off his career-best and most on the team this season.
 
Following an 8-0 run by the Beavers to tie the game for the first and only time, LMU scored the next 10 points beginning with five more from Porter and ending with five from Caleb Stone-Carrawell. Stone-Carrawell scored 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
 
Oregon State closed the half with the last three points to cut their deficit back to single digits, 43-36, at the half.
 
The Lions more than doubled their lead with a 18-5 spurt over nearly eight minutes to open the second half and push ahead by 20, 61-41. Aaron McBride and Rick Issanza both recorded dunks in that opening run while Alex Merkviladze hit a pair of threes to bring himself into double-figures with 11 points.
 
The lead grew to 21 on Myron Amey, Jr's second triple of the night with 5:51 to play.
 
Will Johnston hit a three to extend the lead to 23, 75-52, with less than five minutes on the clock. Johnston scored LMU's final 10 points of the game to finish at 19 points and lead the Lions with seven assists and four offensive rebounds.
 
LMU finished the game at 50.8 percent (30-for-59) from the field, the highest percentage of the season against a Division I opponent.
 
Defensively, Oregon State's 21 field goals made match the low marks set by LIFE Pacific and Nevada earlier this season.
 
Issanza returned to the starting lineup for the first time this season and the 28^th time in his LMU career. The center grabbed six rebounds and dished out a career-high three assists in his first 20-plus minute game of the season.
 
LMU's homestand continues Saturday night as the #19 Gonzaga Bulldogs come to Gersten Pavilion. This is the first ranked opponent the Lions have faced this season. Tickets are available on the AXS app for the 6:00 PM start.
 
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