Keys to today's game

Ashley Hamilton is a key to tonight's game | Courtesy of Facebook

I was going to start this post by writing, "Tonight's game is really important for the Lions," but let's be honest, because of the hole they've dug themselves into early this season all of their games right now are important.

The Lions have lost a chance at an at-large bid, so conference play is going to be of the utmost importance to LMU. However, if the Lions want to make a solid push for the WCC crown, then they have to start playing like a team who can challenge Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, or even Portland.

Beating up on opponents like tonight's Cal Poly is part of that. Two weeks ago at Cal Poly, the Lions offense was non-existent. That can't happen tonight, and with the team playing back at Gersten with chip on their shoulder after losing to this sub-par team already this season, I don't expect it to.

However, it seems unlikely that Drew Viney will play tonight (and likely that he will play Tuesday, which is good news for LMU), and therefore the offense needs to come from somewhere else.

Vernon Teel is a lock for about 15 points, but without Viney in the lineup other people have to step up, much like Larry Davis did in the team's loss to Santa Barbara on Wednesday. I'm hoping that game was a turning point for Davis, and that he can now be a reliable scorer who plays valuable minutes for LMU. But the other person who's really going to need to step up tonight is Ashley Hamilton. With Viney out, Hamilton needs to take it upon himself to be the Lions inside presence on the offensive end of the court, and to do that, he needs to make sure to stay out of foul trouble. He's capable of scoring 20+ points against a Cal Poly team which doesn't start anyone over 6'8", and I want to see it happen.

With home games tonight, and then again just three days later, let's hope the Lions can start building some momentum before beginning conference play in just one month.

Go Lions.