Dec. 6, 2005

Final Stats

Missoula, MT (Dec. 6) - Junior Matthew Knight continues to roll, earning his fourth straight double-double for Loyola Marymount against Montana on Tuesday with 22 points and 11 rebounds. However, he didn't get much help as the Lions fell to the Grizzlies at Dahlberg Arena, 79-61.

Knight becomes just the second player in 35 years at LMU to gather in four consecutive double-doubles. He finished 9-for-15 from the field with five of his 11 boards on the offensive end. However, the rest of the Lions struggled to combine for a 15-for-46 (32 percent) as they fall to 2-5 on the season. Montana has won five straight, improving to 5-1 on the year.

"We are not good enough for guys to have off nights and no one step up," said Head Coach Rodney Tention. "We have such a small margin of error that we struggle if one of our top four guys have a night off."

The Lions had no other player in double figures and had to change the line-up for the second time on the season due to Brandon Worthy suffering with a sinus infection all week. He played but did not start and finished with nine points. The other top scorer for the Lions, senior Wes Wardrop, had one of his toughest games to date going 0-for-9 from the field and 0-for-4 from long range to finish with just two points.

"Guys are going to have off nights. It was an off night for Wes. You are not going to play perfect for 27 straight games," said Tention. "But we need other players to step up and hit some shots."

LMU finished just 39 percent from the field, 16 percent from the three-point line and 62 percent from the foul line as they couldn't get a shot to fall, especially in the second half. As for Montana, five players reached double figures, including 17 from both Kevin Criswell and Andrew Strait.

LMU trailed by just one at the break, 28-27 and held Montana to just 34 percent from the field. The Grizzlies came out on a 5-0 run to start the half as they took a 32-27 lead. Senior Chris Ayer then cut it to three on a dunk in transition. However, the game turned as Montana had a five-point trip down the floor when they hit a pair of free throws after a technical foul on Ayer.

The possession continued on a Strait lay-up. He was fouled on the play and made the free throw. The lead grew to eight, 39-31, and the Lions could not recover.

"We lost our focus for four to five minutes and they went on that run that put the lead at several possessions," said Tention. "We are not good enough for teams to go on big runs and be able to recover."

The Lions return home for homecoming against USC on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised live on CSTV and broadcast on Lions' All-Access through KXLU 88.9 FM and www.LMULions.com.

- GO LIONS -