Jan. 23, 2012

SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- LMU sophomore Anthony Ireland was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, the WCC announced on Monday. In addition, he earned the Lou Henson Award for National Player of the Week honors by CollegeInsider.com. The Lions head into a key conference showdown against Santa Clara, today.

He led the Lions to an 82-68 road win at BYU on Thursday, finishing with a career-high 27 points, adding five assists and five steals, also a career-high. Ireland finished 7-for-9 from the field and a career-best 12-for-14 from the free throw line. All of his free throw attempts came in the final 3:40 of the game as part of an 11-0 run that extended the Lions lead from two to 13.

Ireland helped the Lions win their fourth straight road game, the most since 1990-91. The Lions have won their first four road conference games for the first time since 1987-88 when they went 14-0 in WCC play.

The Lions will have the streak tested as they face Santa Clara at the Leavey Center at 7 p.m. The Broncos swept the Lions in the 2010-11 series, including an eight-point win in the Zappos.com WCC Championships Quarterfinals.

The game can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and through LMULions.com. Listen live on your phone through the free LMU app on your smart phone.