Lions escape Idaho State with 79-76 victory

It wasn't pretty, but LMU defeated Idaho State 79-76 Wednesday night in overtime. Anthony Ireland carried the bulk of the weight offensively, scoring 25 points and clinching the win with clutch free throws and a steal down the stretch.

The Lions were playing without Drew Viney, who has yet to suit up this season due to off-season foot surgery, and Ashley Hamilton, who injured his own foot in Saturday's game against Harvard. He is likely out three weeks.

The Lions found themselves down by as many as four points in the overtime period before Ireland absolutely took over the game. Ireland scored the Lion's final six points to ice the victory, including forcing an Idaho State turnover with 30 seconds to play and LMU up by one.

Idaho State's lights-out shooting from long range forced the game into overtime, as the Bengals hit 12 threes in the contest, six of which came from Melvin Morgan who finished with 24 points. The Lions, on the other hand, were just 5-18 from long distance.

Joining Ireland in double-figure scoring were Jarred DuBois and Godwin Okonji, who each contributed 12. Okonji also had a team-high seven rebounds.

The win brings LMU's season record to 2-2. The Lions will next take the court Saturday night, when they host Northern Arizona at 7:30 p.m. LMU will face Idaho State one more time when the Bengals visit Gersten Pavilion on Dec. 10.