LOS ANGELES, Calif. – UC Irvine suffered a narrow, 51-48, loss to LMU Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion.

UCI went on 7-1 run in the final two minutes to make it a two-point, 50-48, game with 38 seconds remaining. LMU would make 1-2 free throws to go up 51-48 with 10 seconds left on the clock. A last second jump shot from Collin Welp just missed as UCI failed to send the game to overtime.

The 'Eaters fall to 2-4 on the season while the Lions improved to 4-3 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
> Collin Welp grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds and finished with 11 points, notching his first double-double of the season
> Dawson Baker led UCI with 12 points on 6-13 shooting overall
> Brad Greene finished with three blocks, eight points and four rebounds
> UCI shot 35.6 percent (21-59) overall and held LMU to 35.8 percent (19-53) shooting from the field. Both teams struggled from the three point line as the 'Eaters went 3-13 (.231) and the Lions were 2-18 (.111)
> LMU held a 40-37 advantage in rebounds and outscored UCI 30-22 in the paint. The Lions also got 11 points off of 19 free throw attempts while UCI was 3-6 on free throws.
> Dameane Douglas led all scorers with 18 points on the night

First Half
> Baker got the 'Eaters on the board in the first minute with a jumper (19:02) before LMU quickly tied it up at 18:13
> A defensive battle ensued as the teams exchanged back and forth points and the game remained tied, 8-8 with 9:47 to play
> UCI struggled to find the basket, not scoring for five minutes, until Welp broke the drought with two made free throws at 8:40 to make it 10-10
> Austin Johnson made a mid-range jumper that kick started a 6-0 run for the 'Eaters to put them up, 18-12, with 4:04 to play
> Isaiah Lee hit a three to give UCI its largest lead of the half, 21-14 (3:20)
> LMU would score back-to-back baskets to make it 21-17 heading into the locker rooms

Second Half
> A jump shot from Baker followed by a layup from Welp put UCI up by seven, 29-22, with 15:38 remaining
> LMU used a 13-2 run to take the lead, 35-31, with 11:15 remaining. The 'Eaters went over five minutes without scoring a point until Welp made a free throw at 10:29 to make it 35-32
> LMU would go up by seven with 4:57 remaining until Justin Hohn made a three-pointer at 4:41 to bring UCI within four, 45-41
>The Lions extended their lead to nine, 50-41, with 2:11 remaining before UCI made a late 7-0 run to come within two. However, the 'Eaters comeback fell short and LMU took home the 51-48 victory

Quote from Head Coach Russell Turner
"I think this game represented progress for us in the big picture and that is something we could focus on and take away from that. However, I am angry with my team and our ability to get free throw rebounds. I am angry with our lack of commitment to do that because I believe if we did that we could have won this game tonight. Also, I am disappointed in our lack of running back on defense and getting back to defend. That is something that I want to drive home with our team and I need commitment from every guy to do that."


Notes: UCI is still looking for its first Division 1 win … UCI falls to 12-12 in the all-time series with LMU … Collin Welp picks up his sixth career double-double … Justin Hohn scored his first career points … 48 points is the lowest scored by UCI since 2011 against UC Davis

Up Next
> UCI returns home to play San Diego Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m.