Lions end homestand with come-from-behind victory

C.J. Blackwell stepped to the free throw line with 1.4 seconds on the clock and the Lions down by two to the Idaho State Bengals tonight. The freshman showed no nerves, knocking down both free throws to send the game into overtime, where LMU eventually won 80-72.

"If you can play defense and rebound, you will give your team a chance every time," said Head Coach Max Good. "Blackwell did that tonight. He showed a lot of poise for a freshman in drilling those free throws."

With 8:55 remaining in the second period the Lions found themselves in their biggest hole of the game, trailing 63-53. But clutch three-point shooting helped bring them back, with Jarred DuBois, Blackwell and Ayodeji Egbeyemi all hitting big second-half threes to close the gap. The overtime period was all Lions.

This was the second overtime game of the season between the Lions and Bengals, with the Lions winning both. Their record is now 6-4 on the season.

Five different Lions scored in double-figured, with DuBois leading the way with 15 on 5-11 shooting. LaRon Armstead had 14, Anthony Ireland and Blackwell had 13, and Quincy Lawson had 11. The Lions had a bountiful 27 three-point attempts in the contest, knocking down nine of them. Blackwell also had a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Lions played without Drew Viney, who has appeared in only two games this season due to injury.

LMU will now head out on a two-game east coast road trip, that begins with Florida State on Sunday. The game can be seen live on ESPNU at noon. Then, the Lions will play at Morgan State on Dec. 21.