Toreros stun Lions in Gersten

Well, that was unexpected.

After two of the biggest wins of the season, the 10-4 Lions hosted a 6-8 Torero team tonight in the second-to-last regular season game of the year. San Diego came out strong, and had LMU on its heels for the majority of the game, eventually upsetting the home team 60-57.

The Lions never led by more than two in the first half, and trailed by six at the half. The team's leading scorer Drew Viney had only five points in the contest on 2-7 from the field, and the Lions shot less than 25 percent from beyond the arc in the game. The team has been living and dying by the three recently, but hot-shooting masked it well the past few games. Not tonight, as no Lion made more than one three in the game.

Ashley Hamilton led the way with 15 points, despite scoring just one in the first half of play. The redshirt junior carried LMU on his back to start the second period, scoring the team's first 11 points of the half. Anthony Ireland was the only other Lion to score in double-figures, contributing 14 on 7-15 from the field. The sophomore, however, did not have a three-pointer or free throw in the game.

While LMU had a decent shot at making a run for third place in the conference standings, tonight's disappointing loss pretty much solidifies a fourth place conference finish. While it's great that the Lions already earned themselves a first-round bye, the team that showed up tonight would have no chance of beating San Francisco in a quarterfinal match in Vegas. Let's hope this was the team's one off night, and they come back prepared Saturday night when they take on Santa Clara. The game is Senior Night, and it will likely be the last time starters LaRon Armstead and Drew Viney play in Gersten. I hope the team can send them out with a win.

Saturday's game tips off at 8 p.m., and can be seen live on Fox Sports West.

A few things I noticed:

• AI looked exhausted tonight, even in the first half. He has played an extrordinary amount of minutes this season, so I hope that isn't catching up to him. He still had some stellar moments, but his outside shot wasn't there and he just seemed gassed. 
• Drew only took seven shots, which anyone who reads my column will know I hate, but from watching the game he wasn't really turning down open looks. You have to give some credit to the San Diego defense. However, Drew has been playing so well of late that a five-point game is just disappointing. I hope this was his one off-night and he can now come back strong the next four games.
• The game against Santa Clara is now just all about momentum. Heading into Vegas with two disappointing losses would be less than ideal, so let's hope the team gets some positive energy back Saturday and shows up in Vegas like the road warriors we've seen all season.
• Heading into the WCC Tournament with a long winning streak, however, would also have been dangerous, as a letdown would almost be eminent. However, tonight's loss does seriously hurt our chances at an NIT bid.