LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Vukasin Masic scored 20 points, but the Portland men's basketball team fell to the Loyola Marymount Lions 92-65 on the road Thursday. The game was tied at 37 at the half, but LMU erupted for 55 second half points to pull away late.
Masic added five assists to his 20 point game to lead the Pilots (7-14, 1-5). Tyler Robertson helped out with 17 points and Juan Sebastian Gorosito chipped in with nine points.
How It Happened
After falling behind 10-9, Portland went on a 6-0 run with 14:14 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Masic, to take a 15-10 lead. It was a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the period as neither team led by more than four points before entering halftime tied at 37-37. Masic had 14 first half points to pace the Pilots.
Alex Merkviladze erupted early in the second half drilling his first five shots, including four three-pointers, to help extend LMU's lead. A three-pointer from Dominick Harris made it 51-43, but the Pilots answered with a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 51-49 with 14:52 to go in the contest. Loyola Marymount responded with a 14-0 run capped by a pair of Keli Leaupepe three-pointers and the Pilots would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Game Notes
» Vukasin Masic led the Pilots with 20 points, his fourth 20-plus point game of the season.
» Portland got a team-high six rebounds from Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams.
» Merkviladze (25), Leaupepe (20) and Dominick Harris (20) each eclipsed 20 points for LMU
» Portland shot a respectable 46 percent overall, but LMU finished at 54 percent from the field and knocked down 16-of-34 three-pointers.
Up Next
The Pilots return home to host the San Francisco Dons on Saturday at 5 p.m.
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