Men’s Basketball: Late LMU rally falls short against Pepperdine

A tough overtime loss to Pepperdine Saturday night left Loyola Marymount University men’s basketball team near the bottom of the West Coast Conference as they head into the second half of league play, starting with a rematch against Gonzaga, the country’s No. 1 team.

A recap of last week:

Jan. 30: 50-62 at Pacific: Cold shooting (39 percent) in the first half at Stockton left the Lions trailing 29-22, and they came no closer than six points the rest of the game. Eli Scott led LMU with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jordan Bell scored 10.

Feb. 1: 67-68 vs. Pepperdine: Trailing the Waves by eight points with under three minutes to play in regulation at Gersten Pavilion, the Lions tied the game at 61 on Jonathan Dos Anjos’ layup and two free throws in the final minute. LMU then fell behind 67-61 with two minutes left in overtime, and again rallied with Dos Anjos’ dunk bringing the Lions to within one with 44 seconds left. The Lions got the ball back with 11.2 seconds to play, but Scott (21 points, six assists) missed a last-second three-point attempt. Keli Leaupepe scored 17 points and had nine rebounds while Ivan Alipiev scored 10.

Upcoming: LMU (8-15 overall, 2-7 WCC) plays top-ranked Gonzaga, the WCC leader, in Spokane on Feb. 6. The Lions return home to play BYU on Feb. 13 and Santa Clara on Feb. 15.