Gibson Jimerson jumped up two spots on ×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ University’s all-time scoring list and he put in eight to key a late first-half push that sent SLU over Loyola Marymount 77-71 on Saturday at Chaifetz Arena.
Jimerson finished with 23 points, giving him 1,892 for his SLU career, now in its sixth season. Isaiah Swope, in his best offensive game so far with SLU, also had 23 points. Kalu Anya had nine points and 13 rebounds, along with five assists. The only thing that took away from his game on Saturday was his 1 of 5 shooting at the free throw line.
The game got a bit closer than SLU would have liked in the final minutes of the second half, as LMU trimmed an 18-point deficit to eight with 3:26 to play. A basket by Jevon Porter cut the lead to six, before Kellen Thames hit two free throws with 2:18 to get the lead back to eight. Jimerson hit a 3 off an inbounds pass with 56 seconds to play to get the lead to 11. That basket snapped a run of 6:27 without a field goal for SLU.
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Jimerson came into the game with 1,869 points and in fifth on the school’s all-time list. His 3-pointer with 2:04 to go in the first half, set up by a pass Thames slapped between an LMU defender’s legs, pushed him past Monroe Douglass and into fourth place. He tied Roland Gray for third place when he made two free throws 42 seconds later and then had third place to himself when he hit another 3 with 45 seconds to go in the half.
That was part of a 12-2 run by SLU to close out the half and put them up 42-30 at the break.
Next up for Jimerson is Erwin Claggett at 1,910 points, which could come as early as Friday when SLU plays Wichita State at Kansas City. From there, it will be 62 more points to get the school record of 1,972 set by Anthony Bonner.
SLU took the lead at 3-2 and led the rest of the first half. SLU hit some scoring droughts along the way, but LMU matched them and couldn’t catch up.
SLU got its lead up to 18 early in the second half, but another scoring drought saw LMU close to 11 at 62-51, when coach Josh Schertz called time. Swope drove for a layup on the ensuing possession to take the lead back to 13.
A recurring problem for SLU in the early season then popped up: Fouls. Loyola Marymount went into the bonus with 8:59 to go in the second half.
LMU got SLU’s lead to single digits for the first time since the first half when Alex Merkviladze hit a 3 with 3:26 to play.
Kobe Johnson returned to the lineup after missing the first two regular-season games with a shoulder injury. Schertz had said Thursday that it didn’t seem likely, because Johnson still wasn’t practicing, but he must have shown enough on Friday to be in the lineup on Saturday.
Johnson played just 9:27 in the first half, the least of all the starters. He finished the game with no points in 18 minutes, taking just two shots. He was on the court at the end of the game for his defense.
Johnson injured his left shoulder in practice two days before SLU’s season opener with Santa Clara, suffering a bruise that limited his range of motion and the main issue was pain tolerance.
Thames and Anya, who both missed time during the week with sicknesses, were in the lineup on Saturday.
Former SLU coach Lorenzo Romar, now an assistant with Loyola Marymount, was acknowledged before the game and got a nice round of applause from the SLU fans.