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| The only bright spot of the evening was seeing Drew Viney back on the court. |
Down by 12 with 1:18 to play, LMU switched into a full-court press, raised the intensity of its defense, and scored three straight baskets from inside the key to cut the deficit to six with 38 seconds still remaining. The energy and hope that had earlier escaped the building quickly returned to the crowd of 3,844, and ideas of a miraculous comeback crept into everybody's mind. But, just as quickly as the comeback began, it ended, and poor shot choices suddenly snapped the Lions' three-game winning streak. LMU lost by the final score of 69-61.
The similarities are too apparent. First, the Lions beat Saint Louis Tuesday in one of the best played games I've seen in years. Hopes and expectations soared for Lions fans, much like they did after a very impressive 18-16 season in 2009-10. Then, by halftime of Friday's game, the Lions trailed by 14 and look flat, confused and nothing like a team that could contend in the WCC. That's where fans will have de ja vu back to last season, when high expectations and a boatload of talent ended with an 8th play finish in WCC play. The ups and downs can't be good for the hearts of all these Lions fans.
Were expectations too high entering today's game? Definitely. Fans (myself included) got swept up in the excitement of Tuesday. However, are the Lions more talented than the Columbia team they were embarrassed by tonight? Definitely. And that's the worst kind of loss.
Someone may look at the box score and think Columbia is the best shooting team in the country, after they lit the Lions up shooting 52 percent from the field and 63 percent from beyond the arc. While the visiting Lions shot extremely well, the defensive rotations by LMU were awful, and Columbia shooters were left with wide open shots Division I basketball players should only dream about.
Quick Hits:
Despite coming in off the bench, Drew Viney made his season debut, scoring 10 points in 22 minutes. His shot looked smooth as silk, but his conditioning and defense are not yet game-ready. Viney has one of the best shots I've ever seen, but right now his style of play doesn't exactly fit in with the identity the Lions have when they are playing their best basketball.
Anthony Ireland finished with a team-high 17 points, but had only one assist from the PG position. The offense looked weak for the majority of the game, and it looked like the Lions weren't running offensive sets often enough.
The Lions shot 5-18 from behind the arc. Instead of driving to the hoop, they settled for (sometimes ill-advised) jump shots, even when they weren't falling.
Jarred DuBois helped lead the Lions attempt of a comeback, scoring eight points in game's last 62 seconds. He scored five points in the game's other 39 mintes. He needs to bring that scoring mentality to the entire game, especially when the team is struggling to find its shot.
LMU will take on a non-Division I team tomorrow (La Sierra), so the opportunity to erase the feeling of tonight's loss will have to wait until Sunday. Tomorrow's game tips off at 7:30 p.m.
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