Loyola Marymount @ Portland, March 2nd

So the last game of the regular season is here, and it has conference tourney ramifications. Those are outlined elsewhere. The game is 5:00pm on Saturday. Be there early for Senior Day.

LMU is 12-17. They are ranked #170 on KenPom, and #177 on NET (Pilots are #313 and #309 respectively). In their last game against USD, every starter scored in double figures, and the team shot 61.5% on 3P shots (and only 60% on FTs ). They have one Quad 2 win, and are 10-2 in Quad 4 games. In the first meeting in L.A., after a tied 1st half they exploded for a 55-28 2nd half. Keli Leaupepe had 20 pts, but he has been out with injury.

The Pilots need to replicate the formula used against SCU. I wonder if any injured Pilots will be able to return? The Pilots have to have tired legs.

Go Pilots

Iron Five. Lemke and Vucinic combined for 6 minutes total as subs. The starters (Robertson, Austin, Gorosito, Dengbit and Masic) all played 38 to 40 minutes each. LMU was missing some key players, but the Pilots have no sympathy with their short bench.

18 assists on 26 makes. Only 5 turnovers. Dengbit double-double 10 points, 12 rebounds. Robertson double-double 12 points, 11 rebounds. Masic 7 rebounds, Austin 6 rebounds, for a 34-30 rebound advantage.

Pilots finish 5-11 in WCC play, in a 3-way tie with LMU and PU. Pilots have the tiebreakers to claim the #6 seed. Right where the pre-season coaches' poll predicted.

Finishing: poor vs good.
-with 2 minutes left in the 1st half and up 12, Pilots missed a layup, missed a 3P, made a turnover, and missed a 3P. LMU made two 3P shots to close within 6. (Pilots also didn't score in the first 4 minutes of the second half, and LMU made another 8 straight points to take a 2 point lead).
-with 2 minutes left in the 2nd half, LMU scored to pull within 5. Tyler made a 3P after an offensive rebound, the team ran time off the clock, Masic made 2 FTs, and they allowed LMU only two shot attempts in those final 2 minutes.

Similar to the SCU game, after losing a large lead, the team stayed together, kept running their offense and defense, and regained the lead and finished the game strong.