LOS ANGELES - The Santa Clara men's basketball team (12-7, 4-2) fell to the LMU Lions (10-8, 2-4) 57-54 on Thursday night at the Gersten Pavilion. The Broncos battled hard in a back-and-forth affair and had a shot to tie it at the end, but ultimately fell just short. Christoph Tilly put in a career high 25 points in the loss, tying the team high with his fourth 20 point game this year, hitting 10 field goals, which tied the most by a Bronco this season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Broncos struggled out the gate missing their first five treys, but a 7-2 spurt capped off by back-to-back layups from Elijah Mahi and Brenton Knapper put the Broncos up 14-8, forcing an LMU timeout.
• However, SCU went nearly seven minutes without a bucket, missing seven straight shots, as the Lions scored 15 straight points to go up nine. The Broncos showed a glimmer of life towards the end of the half as they mustered together an 8-0 run to cut the Lions lead to three at the break.
• Christoph Tilly led the rally in the second half scoring seven in a row by himself to put the Broncos up 37-34, forcing another LMU timeout. Out of the timeout, the Broncos went cold again going a long four minutes without a bucket as LMU capitalized with a 10-0 run to go up 45-39.
• A layup from Jake Ensminger and a free throw from Tilly capped a 7-0 Broncos spurt, as they regained the lead with seven minutes left. Both teams traded buckets, until two free throws from Carlos Stewart Jr. put the Broncos up one heading into the final media timeout.
• A layup from Alex Merkviladze gave the Lions the lead, but a jumper from Adama-Alpha Bal turned the tide back in the Broncos favor. Two free throws from Caleb Stone-Carrawell, who led the Lions with 19 points, put LMU up one with 40 seconds left.
• On the ensuing possession, Bal got downhill to the basket but missed the shot, and Merkviladze snagged the rebound, knocking down two free throws to put LMU up three.
• The Broncos had two looks at the game tying three on the final possession, but were unable to find the basket, ultimately falling 57-54.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Christoph Tilly put in a career high 25 points, tying the team high with his fourth 20 pt game this year, hitting 10 field goals, tying the most by a Bronco this season.
• Adama-Alpha Bal tied the team high with his 14th game of the season in double figures, scoring 14 points.
• The Broncos outrebounded the Lions, 38-32, falling to 11-3 this season when winning the battle on the glass.
• This was Santa Clara's lowest scoring output of the season and lowest since scoring 49 points vs. Saint Mary's on Jan. 13, 2024.

POSTGAME COMMENTS:
 

Coach Sendek discusses tonight's game with @PassarelliVoice pic.twitter.com/OfPLw4pmUN

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 17, 2025

 
UP NEXT: The Broncos travel to Spokane, Wash. for a matchup with #16 and conference co-leader Gonzaga. The game can be streamed on ESPN+, and listened to on Sidearm Streaming here.