Glen McGowan led the team with 17 points off the bench as every Wave got in the game, and all but one scored.

Jimmy Miggins added 15 points and seven rebounds, Boomer Brazzle registered 13 and five.

Cedric Suitt followed his school-record ten-block performance of last Saturday with four points, six rebounds, and five blocks in just 17 minutes. He took yet another spill in the second half that aggravated his nagging back pain and was rested thereafter.

Terrance Johnson had just seven points, but they were spectacular, six of them coming on acrobatic dunks, including one off an under-the-basket inbounds pass from Brazzle that would make any highlight reel.

The Lions were led by Greg Lakey' 16 points and eight boards, but trailed by 17 at the half and could not do anything to stop the Waves' up-tempo, balanced, NBA-style athletic attack.

But on Saturday, the Lions roared back.

A subtle adjustment to the starting lineup by Steve Aggers may have been a big difference-maker. Charles Brown, one of his most athletic and quick guards, and senior Robert Davis, a streaky shooter who can score in bunches, ignited a much more inspired LMU attack. The Lions contained the Waves' lightning-quick backcourt of Devin Montgomery and Johnson much more effectively and gave Lakey enough outside support to establish a dangerous attack. As a result, the Lions smelled blood and took a narrow 38-37 lead to the locker room.

In the second half, it was Miggins who played the injured hero role that Suitt had embodied last week. Nursing an unspecified injury that had him grabbing his side repeatedly, Miggins gutted out 12 of his 16 points in the second half and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Still, the Lions played poised and determined ball, and led 56-50. That's when Craig Lewis came in and calmly stroked consecutive three-pointers to tie the score. After the Lions rebuilt their lead to 64-60, the Waves finally kicked it into high gear, outscoring the Lions 29-15 the rest of the way.

Lewis, who was expected to be the Waves' starting shooting guard and senior leader, has instead warmed to his backup role and now represents perhaps the conference's most dangerous bench threat. He hit five three pointers in this game and an 18-footer to put the Waves up by five that really seemed to break the Lions' back. He finished with 17 points. As for the senior leader tag, there is no disputing that.

Suitt nabbed ten rebounds and blocked two more shots. McGowan scored ten of his 12 in the first half to lead the Waves at the break.

Montgomery has perhaps made the most in-season strides of any Wave, going from a somewhat out-of-control shoot-first point guard to a steady leader of a balanced, well-oiled offensive machine. He registered 13 points and nine assists.

For the Lions (9-13, 2-6), Lakey had 17 points and six boards, and Davis scored 18 in the upset bid. Brown had four points and six assists in his start, and freshman Andy Osborn -- one of the Lions' hopes for an outstanding future -- recovered from a miserable performance Wednesday to contribute 13 points and six boards in the losing cause.

It would be unfair to both teams to suggest the Waves were sluggish or played poorly. The Lions simply wanted this game, and for a long time, looked as if they might get it. But once again, the Waves' brutal nonconference schedule paid dividends, as they never lost their composure and continued to believe they would prevail -- and they did.