LOS ANGELES – The LMU men’s basketball team keeps trying, but the Lions keep falling short. In the middle of a periodic losing skid, LMU’s home game against the Pepperdine Waves on Feb. 12 sort of exemplified the current losing streak the Lions are on.
At the end of the first half, the Lions found themselves down just one point (30-29) to the Waves. Things collapsed for LMU in the second half as Pepperdine outscored the Lions 42-34 and came away with a 72-63 road win at Gersten Pavilion.
RATTLE THE RIM, LARS!#RaiseTheStandard pic.twitter.com/Mjq5sL0jpp
— LMU Men's Basketball (@lmulionsMBB) February 11, 2024
LMU’s Alex Merkviladze led the way for the Lions with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and one assist. His efforts were not enough to help his team secure their fourth conference win of the season.
The fierce matchup between the Waves and LMU started great but ended in disappointment for the Lions.
Pepperdine managed to separate themselves from LMU in the second half by getting more points off the bench and crashing the boards for second-chance points. In all, Pepperdine totaled more second-chance points (15-4) and points from the bench (16-4) than LMU. That was the difference in the ballgame.
Pepperdine star Michael Ajayi and Alex Merkviladze of LMU both finished the game with 17 points, but Ajayi consistently helped his team throughout the game offensively and defensively. Ajayi used his awareness on the court to grab 13 rebounds.
The Waves were behind the Lions for most of the first half but found the lead in the last minutes of the period. In the second half, a completely different team came onto the court and for the first three and a half minutes, the Waves seemed to be the only team competing on the court.
Following the opening four minutes of the second half, Pepperdine led the Lions by 10 points.
The Waves were able to match Pepperdine’s intensity in the first half and were able to control their ball handlers but in the second half that momentum died down.
Coach Stan Johnson believes his team played a good game against a talented team but unfortunately were unable to secure their fourth win of the season due to exhaustion.
“Sometimes fatigue can make us all weak,” Johnson said. “I think we let that get to us in the second half. When your down numbers like we are, you got to think of your teammates more. The more you can put your eye on somebody else, maybe the less you think about how tired you are.”
I’m Daniel Herrera, a native of Los Angeles. I’ll be graduating from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills in May 2024. I’ve developed a profound interest in storytelling, broadcasting, photography, and sports, particularly soccer and basketball. My aspiration is to get a career that allows me to travel the globe covering soccer matches. With the skills and expertise I’ve cultivated, my ultimate goal is to become an on-the-field sports reporter.