Nov. 21, 2010

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - LMU ended their season opening stretch of five games in nine days against one of the hottest teams in the country, Rider, and they showed why by hitting 11 three-pointers for a 73-63 win in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Tip-off at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., Sunday afternoon.

Rider, coming of double-digit wins over USC and TCU, won their fourth straight to improve 4-1, while the Lions fall to 2-3.

Drew Viney led the Lions with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Ashley Hamilton added 14 and freshman Anthony Ireland, earning his first start, scored 12 points with five rebounds. Novar Gadson led all scorers with 18 points, hitting 4-for-5 three-pointers. Mike Ringgold added 16.

"We did a good job at the start and then didn't play well to start the second half," said Head Coach Max Good. "We then came back and started working back. But then we killed ourselves by not executing a basic fundamental. We foul the right guy and then give up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw. There is no excuse for that. None."

The Lions came out on fire, hitting nearly 70 percent from the field early as they took a first half lead for the start and grew it to as large as eight, 30-22, after an Ireland three-pointer with 7:46 to play.

However, Rider used three-point shooting to cut the lead to one at the break, 38-37, as Jhamar Youngblook hit a long ball with 13 seconds to play in the half. Rider hit 7-for-10 from the three-point line, including Gadson hitting all four of his attempts.

"We are one of the worst teams at defending the three-point shot," said Head Coach Max Good. "If a team is struggling, they should schedule us."

Rider came out to start the second half and took their first lead of the game in the first possession, 39-38. The Lions took it right back on a Hamilton jumper. The Broncs then scored the next seven points to go up 46-40 less than four minutes into the half. Ireland would end the stretch with a runner, making it 46-42.

The Lions roster, already without Vernon Teel for the game, would get thin as the game progressed, losing Ayodeji Egbeyemi, Godwin Okonji and Ashley Hamilton with injuries. Only Hamilton would return.

During that stretch, the Rider lead would grow to 12, 56-44, on another three, this one by Robinson, his third straight of the half, with 12:30 to play. It would get to 14, 63-59, with 9:30 to play.

However, the depleted Lions would not go away, holding the Broncs without a point for over six minutes to make a comeback. Ireland cut it to eight, 63-55, on two free throws. Edgar Garibay would knock in a lay-in with 6:16 to play, cutting it to six, 63-57. The two freshman would hook-up again, as Ireland would take a perfect pass for Garibay to cut it to four, 63-59, with 3:25 to play.

Gadson would end the scoreless stretch with two free throws with and Danny Stewart put in a missed free throw to make it 67-59 with 2:11 to play. Viney would hit a three-pointer on the next possession to cut it to five, 67-62. It would be the closest the Lions would get.

Rider finished shooting 51 percent (26-for-51) from the field, and 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from three. LMU was 38.7 percent (24-for-62) from the field and just 2-for-14 from long distance (14.3 percent).

The Lions end a five-game, nine-day stint and return to Southern California to take on three straight Big West foes on the road, starting with Cal Poly at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 24.