CORVALLIS, Ore. – LMU led by one at halftime, erased a double-digit second half lead, and shot 96 percent from the free throw line, but was unable to pick up a road win at Oregon State on Wednesday night. The Beavers held on to defeat the Lions, 76-70, in Gill Coliseum.
Aaron McBride started the game with LMU's first two field goals after being inserted into the starting lineup. His second basket started a 6-0 run that put the Lions ahead 8-5. McBride finished with eight points.
Rodney Brown Jr. hit a pair of first half threes, one to push the lead to 11-7 and again to extend the lead to 16-11.
The largest lead of the first half came after back-to-back layups from Rokas Jocius. The Lions led 24-17 with 8:08 to play until intermission.
The first half featured nine lead changes, with AJ Thomas knocking down two free throws in the final seconds to give LMU the 37-36 advantage at the break.
Oregon State scored the first eight points of the second half following three turnovers from the Lions. The run turned into 17-5 to open the new period as the Beavers built up a double-digit lead.
The Lions responded with a 18-5 run over the next 5:37 retake the lead, 61-58, with 5:42 to play in regulation. Myron "MJ" Amey Jr. hit back-to-back threes in the run and the Lions pushed ahead on a go-ahead layup from AJ Thomas. Jalen Shelley scored eight of his 10 points in the second half including six during that
A 9-3 OSU run turned a tie game into a six-point lead for the home team. Brown's corner three pulled the Lions within two with 50 seconds left before the Beavers returned to the line to seal the game. Oregon State's final 13 points scored over the last four minutes all came from made free throws.
Both teams shot over 90 percent from the free throw line. LMU tied a season-high with 24 made free throws on 25 attempts for a 96 percent clip. The one free throw the Lions missed was grabbed for an offensive board by Amey. Six different players were perfect from the charity stripe for the Lions, led by a 6-for-6 effort from the freshman Thomas as part of his eight points. The Beavs went 29-for-31 (93.5 percent) from the line, the most made by any opponent against the Lions this season.
LMU will return home for a game at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday against Portland. The game will tip at 6:00 PM.
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