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.

Final conference homestand kicks off tonight

The Lions will begin their final homestand of the 2011-12 season tonight, as they welcome San Diego to Gersten Pavilion. The Toreros are 3-2 in their last five games, securing WCC victories over Santa Clara, Pepperdine and Portland and losing to San Francisco and Cal State Bakersfield. They are 6-8 in West Coast Conference play.

The two teams met in January in San Diego, when the Lions picked up their second WCC win with a 79-68 victory behind a strong offensive performance from Drew Viney.

The game is an important one for the Lions, who are looking to make a final push in the conference standings before the regular season concludes Saturday night. LMU currently sits one game behind both BYU and Gonzaga, who are facing off against each other tonight in Spokane, Wash.

The Toreros are led by one of the conference's best offensive freshman Johnny Dee, who last time lit the Lions up for 24 points while shooting 6-12 from three. Dee is an exceptionally quick shooter, and the Lions will surely look to do a better job locking him down.

The game tips off at 7 p.m., and can be seen live on lmulions.com.

Other games of interest for Lions fans will be the BYU/Gonzaga showdown on ESPN2 and Saint Mary's vs. Portland matchup on ESPNU. LMU fans should be rooting for Gonzaga and Saint Mary's victories, as explained in my column below.

Lions travel South to take on Toreros

Photo Courtesy of Facebook

After snapping their five-game losing streak in a non-conference game Monday, the Lions will now travel to San Diego to take on the Toreros tonight. LMU is 1-6 through the first half of WCC play, with the team's lone win coming at home against the Toreros one month ago. San Diego is still look for its first conference win.

Conference play has been rough for the Lions, as three of their six losses have been by three points or less. They now find themselves in seventh place in the WCC standings.

The Lions were led by Drew Viney in Monday's win, as the junior forward contributed 26 points and 10 rebounds in the 17-point win. Ashley Hamilton added an additional 16 points and nine rebounds on a night when the Lions had 21 second-chance points. Seattle University had just eight.

LMU will face a Torero team tonight who is just 4-18 overall this season. Tip-off in San Diego is at 7 p.m., and the game can be heard live in the Los Angeles area on KXLU 88.9 FM. You can also watch the game online at http://usdtoreros.cstv.com/allaccess/?media=212173.

Big second half, Teel's double-double lead Lions past Toreros

Vernon Teel led the Lions in points, rebounds and assists in the win | Courtesy of Facebook

Outscoring the Toreros by ten in the second half, the Lions evened up their WCC record tonight after a 67-58 victory. Senior guard Vernon Teel led LMU with his fifth double-double of the season, contributing a team-high 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. He also went a 8-9 from the free throw line.

The Lions evened their season record at 8-8 and their WCC record at 1-1. University of San Diego fell to 0-2 in conference play.

Freshman Anthony Ireland and junior Drew Viney also reached double-figures for the Lions, scoring 15 points and 10 points, respectively.

The Lions picked it up after a lackluster first half in which they allowed themselves to get outrebounded by three. They trailed by one at the break. In the second half, LMU outrebounded San Diego 26-13.

"In the first half it seemed like we were trying hard, but not working hard," said Head Coach Max Good in a press release after the game. "I know it sounds like a contradiction, but we had good intent, but we weren't working hard to get the result we wanted. In the second half we worked hard on the glass and it paid off in the end." 

LMU shared the ball well in the game, picking up assists on 15 of the team's 20 made baskets.

Up next, the Lions will head out on what might be the toughest road trip of the season, taking on Portland on Thursday and WCC-powerhouse Gonzaga on Saturday. Thursday's game can be seen on ESPN2 and tips off at 8 p.m. Portland is 0-1 in WCC play after falling to Gonzaga tonight.

LMU hopes to even WCC record tonight against USD

Anthony Ireland | Courtesy of Facebook

The Lions (7-8, 0-1) will host the Toreros (3-12, 0-1) tonight looking to even up their West Coast Conference record at 1-1 after receiving a beating from Saint Mary's on Thursday. The Toreros are coming off of a 20-point loss to Pepperdine, even though the Waves played without their top scorer Keion Bell.

LMU did receive some good news this week, as Ashley Hamilton, who has been out a couple weeks after needing surgery on a broken hand, was cleared to practice yesterday. He is listed as questionable for tonight's game.

The Toreros finished the non-conference season with the worst record in the WCC,  and have only one player averaging double figures in scoring. That player is junior guard Darian Norris, who barely squeaks into that category with a 10.5 points per game average. The team is averaging just over 62 points per game.

The Lions won both of the two team's meetings last season, and received a 35 points game from leading scorer Drew Viney when the Lions faced the Toreros in February 2010.

Tonight's game tips off at 7 p.m., and can be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM.