Recap and highlights: Cam Shelton leads Loyola Marymount to streak-snapping upset of sixth-ranked Gonzaga 68-67

All streaks have to come to an end.

Loyola Marymount did what 75 other teams before them failed to – beat Gonzaga at the McCarthey Athletic Center, ending the nation’s longest home win streak by a score of 68-67 on Thursday.

Cam Shelton willed the Lions to the finish line, scoring 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half and making the go-ahead layup over Drew Timme with 14 seconds remaining.

Timme had a chance to answer on the other end, but Keli Leaupepe rejected his winner, sending LMU to its first win in Spokane since 1991.

The Lions (14-7, 4-3 West Coast) hadn’t beat Gonzaga in 25 consecutive meetings. The Zags streak of 93 wins over unranked teams also came to an end.

The Bulldogs (16-4, 5-1) had flirted with conference defeat, pulling off second-half comebacks against San Francisco, Santa Clara and Brigham Young earlier in the season. Thursday they couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night on all fronts at 44% from the field, 28% on 3-pointer and 65% from the free throw line.

Gonzaga  dropped behind Saint Mary’s in the WCC standings with the loss. The Bulldogs will look to bounce back at Pacific on Saturday at 7 p.m. That game will be broadcast on KHQ and Root+.

Gonzaga Basketball / Youtube

First half

18:50 – GU 1, LMU 0: Quick three fouls for the Lions (all on different players) and Strawther opens the scoring making 1 of 2 free throw attempts.

15:32 – LMU 7, GU 5: Lions overcome sloppy start with five fouls and four turnovers to take a lead at the U16 media timeout.

Leaupepe leads LMU with five points. Zags just 2 of 6 from the field.

13:44 – GU 12, LMU 7: Quick 7-0 run for the Zags and the Lions call for a timeout.

Turnovers sinking the Lions, up to six, with Gonzaga scoring eight points off those.

10:33 – GU 20, LMU 14: Smith called for a foul and the Lions will have possession when play resumes from the U12 media timeout.

Bolton and Hickman lead the Zags with six and five points, respectively. Gonzaga with just four points from its front court in the early going.

7:56 – GU 25, LMU 19: Both teams battling at the U8 media timeout.

Gregg gets an and-1 to go, now the Zags leading frontcourt player with three points.

4:20 – GU 27, LMU 23: Lions get a couple of shots to fall and the Zags call for a timeout. 

Timme struggling so far, 1 of 5 from the field and has three turnovers.

Halftime

Loyola Marymount closed the gap to one point at halftime as Justin Ahrens banked in a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Gonzaga leads 33-23 over the Lions. The Bulldogs relied on the guards to do a majority of the scoring with Drew Timme struggling, just 1 of 6 from the field.

Nolan Hickman leads the Zags with nine points, while Rasir Bolton added eight. GU forced nine turnovers in the first half, leading to 10 points.

The Lions leaned on effective cuts to the basket from Cam Shelton and Keli Leaupepe, who have nine and seven points, respectively.

Neither team shot well away from the basket. LMU is 3 of 9 on 3-pointers and 1 of 4 on free throws. Gonzaga is 1 of 6 on 3s.

Second half

16:17 – LMU 40, GU 39: Lions fouls mounting early into the half, but LMU has the lead thanks to stellar play from Shelton, who lead the team with 14 points.

11:20 – LMU 51, GU 44: Lions heating up, sensing the upset is in reach, as Anderson makes a 3-pointer ahead of the U12 media timeout for LMU’s largest lead of the game.

Gonzaga is 1 of their last 7 from the field and doesn’t have a field goal over the last 2:51 minutes. Shelton up to 17 points for LMU, while Anderson adds 13.

9:20 – LMU 55, GU 51: Sallis makes a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock, Timme makes a pair of bonus free throws and makes his first shot from the field in the half and the Lions call for a timeout.

7:42 – LMU 58, GU 52: Shelton makes a layup and Timme turns it over at the other end leading to the U8 media timeout.

Zags have faced similar situations in conference play this season, but are in need of a spark to avoid the upset.

3:41 – LMU 61, GU 57: Lions have gone cold from the field, but keep their possessions alive with offensive rebounding and Watson is called for a foul at the U4 media timeout.

LMU on a 2:40 scoring drought and will shoot two free throws when play resumes. Zags also without a field goal in the last 3:07, but taking advantage of the double bonus.

1:51 – LMU 66, GU 64: Hickman makes a crucial 3-pointer and LMU calls for a timeout.

1:21 – GU 66, LMU 66: Watson picks off a pass in the backcourt and strides forward for a game-tying dunk. Timeout LMU.

12.5 – LMU 68, GU 67: Shelton makes a go-ahead layup at the end of the shot clock and the Zags call a timeout.

0:00 – LMU 68, GU 67: Leaupepe comes up with a big block on Timme and Strawthers turnaround heave falls short. Gonzaga’s 75-game home win streak is over.

Pregame

Gonzaga eased the tensions built around a string of tight West Coast Conference games with a comfortable dispatching of Portland last Saturday.

A pair of questions lingers as Loyola Marymount enters the Kennel tonight: Will things get easier for the Zags, or will they need to keep grinding out conference wins on a bi-weekly basis? 

The Bulldogs (16-3, 5-0 WCC) put their 11-game win streak on the line tonight against the Lions (13-7, 3-3) at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KHQ and can be streamed online here. 

LMU has seen mixed results early into its conference schedule. The Lions beat Portland and lost to Pacific, before upsetting Brigham Young and losing to San Francisco by two points.

Last week, LMU lost to Saint Mary’s 76-62 and then beat San Diego 98-84.

Series history

Gonzaga has a 25-game win streak over Loyola Marymount and a 76-23 all-time series lead.

The Bulldogs played the Lions once last year, winning 89-55. LMU last won on Feb. 18, 2010 and hasn’t won in Spokane since Jan. 27, 1990.

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