Lions snap streak, win at Pepperdine 68-58

First of all, huge props need to be given to Anthony Ireland. There are many time every game where I think "My goodness, where would we be without AI," but tonight, with Jarred DuBois out with a concussion, the sophomore guard played a full 40 minutes of basketball and led LMU to its first win at Pepperdine since 1998. Exhausted (rightfully so) midway through the second period, Ireland did his best to conserve energy on the offensive end of the court, as to not hinder the Lions defensively. However, as soon as LMU found itself in a scoring drought, Ireland scored back-to-back buckets for the Lions when they needed it most.

The victory was an important one for the Lions, who will now enter their home game against Gonzaga Saturday night with a 3-1 West Coast Conference record. Ireland led the way with 21 points on 7-11 shooting, and Drew Viney was not far behind with 19 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Ireland and Viney are definitely beginning to work well together, and the two contributed more than half of the Lions points.

Despite allowing a somewhat disconcerting 30 points in the paint, LMU's defense held its own, holding the Waves to 37 percent from the field and 21 percent from behind the arc. Center Godwin Okonji pulled in nine boards and had a team-high four blocks. LaRon Armstead, Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Ashley Hamilton (despite shooting just 3-11 from the field) also contributed solid minutes in the win.

LMU will now look to put together a three-game conference win streak as it hosts Gonzaga Saturday night. The game has an early tip-off of 5 p.m. Jarred DuBois' status for that game is not yet known, as he will be evaluated Friday.