Nov. 6, 2010

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Lions' All-Access Postgame

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - With just six setbacks in the last two years on their resume, LMU Head Coach Max Good knew that Chapman was going to be a challenge in the Lions' lone exhibition game of the season. "When you go 46-6 in two years, even in recreation league play, you are a pretty good team," said Good.

It was a challenge, however, the Lions got 24 points from its leading scorer a year ago, junior Drew Viney, to earn an 83-71 win at Gersten Pavilion Saturday night.

"We knew this was going to be a tough one," said Good. "They do a great job and appear to much quicker on the court because they know exactly what spot to go to. They are a very good team."

Viney added nine rebounds in 30 minutes for the Lions to lead for players in double figures. Ashley Hamilton had 11 points and eight rebounds, while junior Tim Diederichs and freshman Anthony Ireland added 10 each. Ireland also had seven assists, two steals and just one turnover.

Chapman was led by Max Piner's 23 points, hitting 5-for-7 from the three-point line. The Panthers finished hitting 7-for-14.

"I wasn't very happy with our perimeter defense," said Good. "As we head into next week and prepare for a very good Morgan State team, we will be back to the basics. We will work on the fundamentals on defense. I don't think we are going to struggle to find points, but if we are going to be successful, we are going to have to play better defense."

The Lions led the entire way and led by as many as 16 points, 64-48, thanks in large part to back-to-back three pointers by Viney. However, Chapman would not go away and cut the lead to five, 70-65, when Piner hit a three-pointer with 5:44 to play.

LMU would go on a 12-2 run down the stretch to put the game away. In that stretch, the Lions got back-to-back three-pointers from Ireland and Jarred DuBois to push the lead from seven to 13.

The Lions will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., when they host Morgan State at Gersten Pavilion. The game will be live on the Roar Network, LMU cable channel six and can also be seen live on LMULions.com. KXLU will also have the game on 88.9 FM.