Feb. 26, 2011

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - It was an all-to-familiar script in the final game of the regular season for LMU, as for the eighth time in West Coast Conference play the Lions saw a win bounce off the rim in the final seconds. San Francisco survived three shots in the final seconds by LMU to win 77-75 at War Memorial Gym on Saturday night.

Anthony Ireland's floater with five seconds bounced high, he got his own rebound and the lay-in fell off to the right and Aydoeji Egbeyemi's third tip was also off.

The Lions led 73-71 before Cody Doolin hit his only shot of the game, a three-pointer with 49 seconds left to give USF a 74-73 lead. After a Lion turnover, Perris Blackwell buried two free throws to make it 76-73 with 35 seconds left.

Vernon Teel drove the lane and cut the lead to 76-75 with 21 seconds left. Rashad Green hit one of two free throws to put the Dons up 77-75 with 15 seconds on the clock, setting up the Lions final flurry shots.

Junior Drew Viney had his fourth straight game over 20 points, leading all scorers with 22 points, hitting 7-of-14 shots. Teel added 21 points and Ireland had 12 to lead the Lions (10-20, 2-12 WCC). Five Dons (16-13, 10-4) scored in double digits, led by Moustapha Diarra with 16 points.

LMU finished the game shooting just 36.4 percent while USF hit 41.9 percent, including just a 6-for-25 clip (25 percent) from the three-point line. LMU overcame the tough shooting from the floor with their best effort of the season from the charity stripe, hitting 22-of-23 (95.7 percent). USF was 19-for-26 (73.1 percent).

"We were up five with less than two minutes to play and had played great defense on their three-point shooters," said Head Coach Max Good. "We hit our free throws and did everything we could, until we let them hit two three-pointers in a row. They were 4-of-23 going into the final minutes and we couldn't close it out. Very disappointing."

The Lions erased a pair of 10-point deficits, one in each half, including a 57-47 deficit midway through the second half. LMU trailed 63-55 with 7:11 to play before going on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 63-63 on a pair Viney free throws.

The lead would go back-and-forth and USF led 67-65 with 3:57 on the clock. The Lions would go on another run, this one 7-0 to take a five-point lead, 73-68, on a pair of Teel free throws with 1:55 to play.

USF then hit back-to-back three-pointers, the first by Marko Petrovic and then Doolin's three to set-up the final minutes.

The Lions will head to the 2011 Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships in Las Vegas on March 4, taking on Portland at 6 p.m., in the first of two games in the opening day of the tournament. Pepperdine will take on San Diego in the second game 30 minutes following the Lions-Pilots.