The Loyola Marymount Lions welcomed the BYU Cougars to Los Angeles for the first time in 75 years on Thursday night, but the Cougars were rude guests, coming away with a 73-65 win over the Lions in the West Coast Conference home opener for LMU.
LMU was up 39-38 with 16:48 remaining in the game, but BYU finished the game on a 35-26 run. Noah Hartsock scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half for the Cougars (13-4, 2-1).
The two teams were tied 34-34 at halftime, as Drew Viney scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Even though the pace was fast in the first half, neither team shot well as BYU shot 35.1%, including making just two of 13 shots from three-point range. Loyola Marymount shot 37.5% in the first half, including three of 12 from beyond the arc. BYU shot 53.8% from the field in the second half, while LMU still struggled at 31.4%.
Anthony Ireland had 21 points and nine assists to lead LMU (8-7, 1-1). The Lions head south to play the San Diego Toreros on Saturday evening.