In the first home game at the as a Division I school against a Division I opponent in almost 29 years, the men’s basketball team used stifling defense and opportunistic offense, especially in the second half, to defeat , 49-39, Thursday night at KeyArena.
Down 21-12 with 6:16 remaining in the first half, Seattle University scored nine unanswered points to tie the game, but Loyola Marymount responded with two baskets in the final minute to take a 25-21 lead at the half. After four ties in the second half, Aaron Broussard () grabbed an offensive rebound and converted on the putback to give SeattleU the lead for good.
Chris Gweth () led the way for SeattleU with 12 points, plus he pulled down eight rebounds. Austen Powers (, ) nearly earned a double-double, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Boxley () finished with seven points, two rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Loyola Marymount (0-15) was led by LaRon Armstead with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Jared DuBois also scored ten points and Corey Counts added eight points to the effort. After hitting 40 percent of their shots in the first half, the Lions hit only 2-of-18 shots (11.1 percent) in the second half and committed 18 turnovers during the game.
had only one less rebound than Loyola Marymount and took care of the ball, committing only 11 turnovers in the game. SeattleU shot 40 percent (20-of-50) from the field. LMU did earn an advantage from the free throw line, hitting 17-of-22 shots from the charity stripe while SeattleU went 4-for-7 from the free throw line.
(8-5) heads south for another important contest, facing the Sunday, Jan. 4, beginning at 2 p.m. The next home game for SeattleU is a makeup of the Dec. 20 game that was postponed due to snow, with coming to town Tuesday, Jan. 13, for a 7 p.m. contest at the .