LMU holds on for narrow victory over Pepperdine

Drew Viney led the Lions with 21 points | Julia Pine

It wasn't pretty, and yet again the Lions blew a 14-point lead, but this time the outcome was different, as LMU held on for a three-point 82-79 victory over Pepperdine in the final home game of the season. Drew Viney returned after missing three games and made an immediate impact for the Lions, leading the team in points and rebounds with 21 and seven, respectively.

Vernon Teel honored before the game

LMU jumped out to a 14-point lead midway through the second half before letting Pepperdine's Mychel Thompson and Lorne Jackson go on an offensive explosion. Thompson ended the game with 29 points, but his last second three at the buzzer bounced off the rim, securing the victory for the Lions.

LMU is now 2-10 in WCC play. Down South, San Diego pulled off a shocking upset over WCC-leading Saint Mary's to also improve to 2-10.

Griffin Reilly honored before the game

Tonight's game was Senior Night at LMU, as Vernon Teel, Larry Davis, and walk-on Griffin Reilly were honored before the game. Davis sat out the entire game due to illness, but both Teel and Reilly got the start. Teel finished the game, his last in Gersten Pavilion, with 11 points and four assists. He also knocked down two crucial free throws in the final minute of play to help LMU secure the victory.

Anthony Ireland, Ayodeji Egbeyemi, and LaRon Armstead joined Teel and Viney in double-figure scoring.

Larry Davis, with his mother,
being honored before the game

Ashley Hamilton, who had 19 points in the Lions loss to Pepperdine earlier this season, sat out the game due to illness. The L.A.-rivals split their series for the second time in two years, with the home team winning four of the last four contests.

The Lions will now take a break from WCC play to participate in ESPN's BracketBuster event. LMU will travel to Portland State on Saturday. The game starts at 4 p.m. and Lions fans can listen live on LMULions.com.

Senior Night approaches as Lions seek win over rivals

The final game of the home season is upon us, as the Lions host the Pepperdine Waves tomorrow night. The Lions, who are 1-10 in conference play, will try to get a win for seniors Vernon Teel and Larry Davis, who will be playing in their final game at Gersten Pavilion.

The Waves enter with a conference record of 5-6, and pulled out a victory despite trailing by four with 2:25 to play. Since playing the Lions, Pepperdine said goodbye to leading-scorer Keoin Bell, who was suspended from play for the remainder of the 2011 season for conduct detrimental to the team.

The Lions received a great game from redshirt sophomore Ashley Hamilton in the team's first matchup against the Waves, as the power forward went 7-7 from the field for a team-high 19 points. Neither Drew Viney nor Vernon Teel started that game, but both made significant contributions in the loss. Viney had 17 points while Teel had a game-high nine assists and 13 points.

LMU will look to pick up some momentum before the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas, with only three games left on the conference schedule.

The game tips off at 8 p.m., and all fans in attendance will receive bobble-head dolls courtesy of The Los Angeles Loyolan.

Lions lose 17 point lead, fall to 1-5 in WCC play

The Lions, who were up by 17 points in the second half, fell to University of San Francisco 61-60 tonight. With 12 seconds left on the clock LMU needed to score to win, but after driving to the hoop freshman guard Anthony Ireland decided not to shoot, giving up the ball to Ayodeji Egbeyemi who had to force up a prayer at the buzzer.

Drew Viney, who was on fire in the first half, sat out the majority of the second half with severe migraines. He finished with 11 points, all in the first period.

Larry Davis sat out the game due to illness.

Egbeyemi finished the game with his first career double-double.

The Lions drop to 1-5 in conference play while the Dons remain in second place at 5-1.

LMU will host Santa Clara on Saturday night for its annual homecoming game. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.

Lions no match for reigning WCC Champs

Larry Davis had 18 points in the Lions' loss to the Gaels | Courtesy of Facebook

The Lions were picked to finish higher than the Gaels in the 2010 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll but didn't play like it tonight, falling 98-75 to open West Coast Conference play. Six Gaels scored in double figures in the game, including two who had over 20 points (Rob Jones and Mickey McConnell). LMU was led by Vernon Teel with 19 points and Larry Davis with 18.

LMU was unable to stop Saint Mary's offense, which is fourth in the nation in field goal percentage and ninth in points per game. The Gaels made an astonishing 13 of their 16 field goal attempts, and had 56 points at the half.They shot 61 percent as a team in the game.

Both teams made it rain from beyond the arc, with the Gaels pouring in 11 three-pointers in the contest. The Lions made a season high seven threes, three by freshman Ayodeji Egbeyemi.

Leading scorer Drew Viney had four points, his lowest scoring total of the season, on 2-7 from the field. Viney, who is averaging over seven rebounds a game, pulled down just two boards. As a team the Lions outrebounded the Gaels 34-31, led by Larry Davis' seven.

LMU drops to 7-8 on the season while Saint Mary's improves to 13-2. The Gaels only two losses this season both came at the hands of top-25 teams.

The Lions will take on USD at home on Saturday. The Toreros lost to Pepperdine tonight in the only other WCC action of the evening. Saturday's game tips off at 7 p.m.

Lions hold off Anteaters to finish non-conference play at .500

Drew Viney led the Lions with 22 points in tonight's win over Irvine | Photo taken by Julia Pine

Drew Viney again had a big game against UC Irvine (6-8), leading LMU (7-7) with 22 points and ten rebounds to an eventual 87-80 win. Five players scored in double figures for the Lions, who allowed a 19 point second-half lead dwindle down to four with just four minutes remaining. Clutch free throw shooting from Anthony Ireland pushed the lead back to eight with less than a minute to play and the Lions held on for the win, snapping a two-game losing streak.

The Lions have now finished non-conference play, and stand at an even 7-7 on the season.

Viney had his seventh double-double of the season and guard Vernon Teel had added 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Teel also went 10-13 from the free throw line. Point guard Anthony Ireland chipped in 15 points and six assists, going a perfect 6-6 from the stripe.

Larry Davis and Tim Diederichs scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lions played without center Edgar Garibay, and center Godwin Okonji had early foul trouble, leaving LMU somewhat shorthanded in the front court. Despite playing with less size, LMU outscored UC Irvine 38-18 in the paint, and out-rebounded them 37-28.

The Lions will now have a week off to prepare for WCC play. The conference schedule starts with a bang for LMU, as they host defending WCC Tournament champs St. Mary's on Thursday. The game tips off at 6 p.m and can be seen on ESPNU.

Update: Future Lion Bruce English starting season strong

Bruce English, who signed his NLI in Novemeber to join LMU's men's basketball team next fall, is starting his senior season strong for the La Verne Lutheran boys basketball team. English most recently led the Trojans (2-1) to an opening round win on Tuesday at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C, contributing a team-high 24 points and 13 rebounds.

The Trojans lost their second game of the tournament, but were again led by English who put in a team-high 17 points.


English is currently the only recruit committed to the Lions for the 2011 recruiting class. At the conclusion of the season the Lions will say goodbye to at least guards Vernon Teel and Larry Davis, who will have both used up their D-I eligibility, meaning there is still one roster spot open for next season.

More disappointment as non-conference season winds down

Anthony Ireland had 10 points, all in the first half, for LMU on Wednesday | Julia Pine

LMU dropped its contest to South Dakota last night by a final score of 82-70; a very disappointing game for the Lions who were coming off of a 3-1 stretch in which the team's only loss came to a very strong Florida State team. The Lions lost to a South Dakota team they beat less than ten days ago, despite receiving a poor game form leading scorer Drew Viney.

Tonight's game started off much like the last one against the Coyotes did, with Viney struggling to find his shot and the Lions offense coming almost entirely from guards Vernon Teel and Anthony Ireland, both of whom finished the first half with ten points each. Unfortunately, neither could find the basket much at all in the second half, as Ireland failed to score a point and Teel contributed only four. Teel did finish the game with another double-double, putting in 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lions offense in the second half came almost exclusively from Viney, who finally found his shot after a couple of off games. Viney finished the night 7-16 from the floor with 16 points and seven rebounds. Fifteen of Viney's 16 points were scored in the second half.

Larry Davis rounded out the Lions' in double figures with 12 points of his own.

The problem for LMU, once again, was their defensive intensity in the second half. After holding the Coyotes to just 33 percent shooting in the first half of play the Lions then got lit up in the second half, letting South Dakota shoot 53 percent from the field and 50 percent from three point range.

The Lions, who led by as many as eight points late in the first half, again watched a lead disappear into a loss.

At this point, LMU's ability to adjust during a game needs to be examined. There have been too many games lost that were seemingly winnable at halftime, and it just seems like the other teams are making better adjustments. Whether this is something that should be looked at by the coaching staff, players, or in my opinion both, doesn't really matter, the thing is it needs to addressed quickly.

LMU is now 6-7 on the season, and will have one final chance to enter conference play with a .500 record when they travel to take on UC Irvine on Dec. 30.