Matadors Fall at Home to LMU

Saturday, December 9

Northridge, CA

7:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

1-8

Loyola Marymount

5-4

Team	1	2	F
Loyola Marymount	38	36	74
CSUN	23	34	57

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

Matadors Fall at Home to LMU

12/9/2017 9:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---A late first-half Loyola Marymount run proved to be too much to overcome in CSUN Men's Basketball's 74-57 defeat on Saturday evening at The Matadome. Tavrion Dawson scored 14 of his team high 16 points in the second half while Micheal Warren posted 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

"I thought our effort was good," said head coach Reggie Theus. "I just think there's a lack of toughness that it takes to win. When you compete you have to have that extra mental and physical second and third effort. There's no drills for the things that are lacking. Its got to come from them. One guys steps up and the other guy will follow."

The Matadors finished shooting 42.9 percent from the field after hitting on 48.0 percent of their shots in the second half. In contrast, LMU finished shooting 53.7 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Lions enjoyed a 42-36 edge in points in the paint and 23-14 advantage in bench points. CSUN was out-rebounded 34-26 on the night.

The Matadors dug an early hole at 9-2 after going 1-for-7 from the field to start the game. Despite the slow start, CSUN would respond and remain within striking distance for most of the first half. After four defensive stops on the other end, the Matadors put together an 8-2 run of their own capped off by a 3-pointer from Terrell Gomez that cut the deficit to 11-10.

CSUN eventually evened the score at 14-14 after consecutive baskets from Zeno Lake and Reggie Theus Jr. LMU extended to an 18-14 lead on a layup from Eli Scott but Gomez nailed another 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to make it a one-point game.

With just over seven minutes to play in the first half, the Matadors would go into a dry spell, which allowed the Lions to take advantage and build a lead. Jeffrey McClendon scored on a driving layup and James Batemon hit a 3-pointer to push the lead to 23-17. Batemon connected on another long ball at 4:44 mark and Scott scored down low to extend to a double-digit lead. The Lions would go on a 20-6 run to close the half as they built a 38-23 advantage at intermission.

Looking up at their largest deficit of the night, the Matadors responded quickly to start the second half. A 3-point play from Lyrik Shreiner capped off five-straight CSUN points. Lake scored later on a put-back to make it 40-30.

Without a field goal in the first half, Dawson found success in the second half as his jumper at the 16:28 mark again trimmed the lead to 10. Also active on defense, Dawson rejected a Batemon shot from behind leading to a CSUN fastbreak where Shreiner found Dawson for the layup that cut the deficit to 44-36.

CSUN again trailed by single digits after Dawson hit a free throw (48-39), but the Matadors were unable to close the gap in the second half. Batemon, who collected a game-high 25 points, scored on a driving layup at the 13:34 mark and he later hit another 3-pointer to push the lead to 53-40.

Falling behind by as many as 17 points, the Matadors closed within 66-54 on a Warren jumper but they would not get any closer in the contest. In the second half, the Lions shot 53.8 percent from the field but only outscored the Matadors by a 36-34 margin.

Off the bench, Lake had nine points and four rebounds while Gomez finished with eight points. Shreiner posted six points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Matadors will take the week off for finals before returning to the road for a Sunday afternoon contest against Eastern Washingon on Dec. 17. Tip off is slated for 1 p.m.