Anthony Ireland had 19 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, leading the Loyola Marymount Lions to a 61-53 win Friday night over the Valparaiso Crusaders in an ESPN BracketBusters game at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles. The victory was the second straight for the Lions, who have won six of their last seven games.
Ashley Hamilton added 12 points and five boards for Loyola Marymount (18-10), who shot 45.1% on the night. The Lions outrebounded the Crusaders 37-23. Drew Viney added nine points and three rebounds for the Lions.
Valparaiso never led in the ball game, but pulled to within one point with 12:27 remaining, but a 10-0 run by LMU put the game away.
Richie Edwards scored 17 points to lead Valparaiso (19-10), who shot 37.5% from the field during the game. The Crusaders took more three-point shots (28) during the game than they did two-point shots (20). Ryan Broekhoff added 16 points for the Crusaders.
Loyola Marymount remains home for the remainder of their regular season schedule, hosting the San Diego Toreros next Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion.