It felt like LMU was in control of the game the entire night, and showed no letdown after the huge win over No. 16 Saint Mary's Wednesday. Sophomore point guard Anthony Ireland led the way with 19 points, while Ashley Hamilton continued his strong play from the second-half of the Gaels game to pitch in 12. LMU is now 18-10 on the season, and will host Santa Clara and San Diego later this week to close out the regular season.
Gersten Pavilion was packed for the game, which aired live on ESPNU, with more than 4,000 people in attendance. There was also a different mood in the building, as it almost seemed like, for the first time in years, that fans expected the Lions to win the game; a testament to how well the team is playing.
Despite scoring only nine points, Drew Viney was 4-7 from the field and definitely seems to have found his stroke. Center Godwin Okonji is also playing his best basketball of the season, and despite getting into foul trouble played a solid defensive game, pulled down five boards and had two steals. LMU outrebounded their opponent by 14.
In addition to leading the team in scoring, Ireland also led the team in rebounds with eight and assists with five.
LMU will now have a couple well-deserved days of rest before hosting the San Diego Toreros Thursday at 7 p.m. LMU defeated San Diego 79-68 on Jan. 7 behind a 20-point game from Viney. LMU has secured a top-4 spot in the WCC standings, but will look to challenge BYU for third by beating San Diego and then Santa Clara Saturday.
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