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LOS ANGELES — For the past two seasons, the BYU men’s basketball team has overcome a double-digit deficit on the road against Loyola Marymount.
The third time was charmed — for the Lions.
James Batemon paced three Lions in double digits with 28 points, and Eli Scott added 19 points and 10 rebounds to help Loyola Marymount to a 76-69 win over BYU for the Lions’ second win since the start of West Coast Conference play Thursday night in Los Angeles.
Zafir Williams supplied a season-high 12 points for the Lions (7-15, 2-9 WCC).
Yoeli Childs led the Cougars (18-6, 7-4 WCC) with 15 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, and Elijah Bryant scored 24 points with five assists despite missing much of the first half after taking a blow to the head.
"We really struggled to take care of the ball tonight and that is a formula for disaster," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Out on the road, having 16 turnovers is a formula for a very tough night. We got behind and it's hard to get the game the way you want it."
The Lions scored 24 points by forcing 16 turnovers against BYU, while the Cougars forced just seven turnovers inside Gersten Pavilion.
BYU struggled early, making just three 3-pointers in its first 18 attempts against the Lions, who got 14 points and six rebounds from Scott in the first half.
The Lions shot 51 percent from the field in the first half and took a 42-31 lead into the halftime break.
James Batemon added 16 first-half points for the Lions, who led for all-but three of the first 20 minutes.
LMU’s lead swelled as high as 15 points in the second half, but the Cougars cut the margin to 50-40 on Dalton Nixon’s driving layup with 8:18 remaining.
Nixon converted technical free throws with 6:11 left, and Childs converted an and-one play on the ensuing possession to pull BYU within five, 62-57 going into the final six minutes.
Twice in the final six minutes, the Cougars pulled within five points. But they could get no closer in a game sandwiched between critical league matchups for the Cougars.
