‘There was a lot of yelling.’ LMU players unhinged in locker room after 68-67 upset of No. 6 Gonzaga
Hip-hop music pumped through the visitor’s locker room, Loyola Marymount players launched water bottles from one end to the other and staffers stood outside on cell phones, frantically FaceTiming friends and family members.
LMU senior forward Keli Leaupepe described the scene: “There was a lot of yelling, water flying around. It was just great vibes. We’re just loving it and enjoying the moment.”
“The moment” was a 68-67 upset win over No. 6 Gonzaga that snapped the nation’s longest active home win streak (75 games) and ended the Bulldogs’ 116-game run against West Coast Conference opponents not named Saint Mary’s or BYU.
The Lions caused both of those streaks to end – and countless others – while pulling off one of the biggest upsets of the season Thursday night at McCarthey Athletic Center.
LMU transformed an eight-point deficit in the first half into a nine-point lead in the second and held on against a Gonzaga team that’s gained plenty of experience in late-game situations through the first month of West Coast Conference play.
The Bulldogs previously overcame double-digit deficits in the second half to beat San Francisco, Santa Clara and BYU on the road. Gonzaga had another late comeback brewing on Thursday, with the backing of its home crowd this time, but LMU made key plays on both ends of the floor in the closing minutes to emerge with the victory.
“I think as a competitor you don’t go into any game thinking you don’t have a chance because then you’re already beat,” LMU coach Stan Johnson said. “That’s the one thing we talked about coming into this week. We have great respect for them, but you can’t get distracted by the name before you play or you’re already behind.
“I think our guys played with great poise. I don’t think there was a time where we thought we had them, because they’re a great team.”
The Lions hadn’t beat the Zags in 25 games and had never won a game at McCarthey Athletic Center. LMU’s last win in Spokane came during the 1990-91 season.
Johnson credited the team’s veterans for the way they handled Thursday’s situation, especially as the Zags mounted their comeback, erasing a nine-point deficit to tie it at 66-66 with 1 minute, 27 seconds remaining.
Leaupepe, a fourth-year player with 97 college games under his belt, and Cam Shelton, a fifth-year senior who’s made 132 career appearances for Northern Arizona and LMU, both came up in clutch time for the Lions.
“We’re always confident, we didn’t want to be too up or too down,” Leaupepe said. “We just wanted to take every play like play by play. It is what it is and we won, so it feels good.”
Shelton, the game’s high scorer with 27 points, scored the eventual game-winner after he drove past Drew Timme and threw a high runner over Malachi Smith and off the glass with 14 seconds to play.
“We drew up a high ball screen for me to get downhill on Drew Timme, we knew he was going to be guarding me,” Shelton said. “They had switched a couple times before. … That’s just a look I think we’re comfortable with. He did a pretty good job most of the game of keeping me in front, but I feel like if I can get him dancing and moving a little big, I think I can get by him and make a play.”
On Gonzaga’s final possession, Timme got the ball on a high screen and drove into the paint but was met by Leaupepe and Michael Graham. Both LMU defenders rose into the air to contest and Graham got a hand on the ball, sending it back to GU’s Julian Strawther, who missed an off-balance 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
“We just wanted to make his catches really hard, he’s a great player in the post and we just wanted to limit his touches in the paint,” Leaupepe said. “The last play, it all happened so fast. I think there was a screen, he got the ball, dribbled down and Mike Graham, he pinned him so that was good.”
Once the madness in LMU’s locker room died down, Johnson, the program’s third-year coach, exited to meet with reporters, making a brief pit stop to hug and share words with athletic director Craig Pintens.
“For us, it’s another sign that our program is moving in the right direction and that’s the biggest thing,” Johnson said. “Especially when you come up here. Not too many people are going to come up here and win, so I think it just stamps and validated the guys we have in the locker room.”