Feb. 11, 2005
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BRIEFLY
The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball (11-12/3-7) team will conclude the home portion of their 2004-05 schedule when they host 14th-ranked Gonzaga (18-4/8-2) at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 6:05 p.m. The game will feature the second standing-room only crowd in the last three home games. Students with a valid OneCard will be allowed in on a first come first serve basis and are encourage to come eaerly. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net West and broadcast on the Lions' Audio Network.
PARENT'S WEEKEND
For the second consecutive year a men's basketball game will be the highlighted event of the Parent's Weekend festivities on campus. Events have been scheduled all week throughout campus and Athletics has taken a role in the annual weekend. The festivites were moved from the fall semester to the spring semester a year ago and the game against USD was the main event. This season the showdown with Gonzaga will be the centerpiece. In addition, RHA, the Alumni Association and Enterprise Rent-A-Car will sponsor the game. The Alumni Association has also formed a pregame Tailgate Party that was also sold out last week.
GERSTEN FINALE
This weekend will be the final homestand for senior guard Charles Brown, the lone senior player on this year's squad. Joining Brown will be senior Tim Collins, a four-year student assistant for the Lions. Brown became the 17th player in LMU history to play in 100 games during his LMU career when he played in his 100th game against Northern Arizona and he became the 27th player in school history to score 1,000 career points with his 11 against Pepperdine on Jan. 29. In the 92 years of LMU basketball, Brown joins an elite list of 100-game players and is the second in as many seasons to accomplish the 100-game mark. Sherman Gay reached the level last season. Brown has played in 112 career games to give him 1,006 points, 387 assists and 175 steals. He is on pace to become just the fourth player in LMU history to have at least 1,000 points and 400 assists in his career. He would join an elite list of Terrell Lowery (1988-92), Keith Smith (1982-86), Enoch Simmons (1985-89) and Jim Williamson. There have been 26 players in LMU history to score at least 1,000 career points. Brown is currently seventh all-time in career assists. As for Collins, he has become a work horse for the Lions, joining the Lions as a true freshman in 2001-02. Collins is a Humanities major with an emphasis in Political Science.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
UNDER 50: In the last four games, the Lions' defense has held opponents to an average of 56.5 points per game, including three under 55 points. The Lions held both Pepperdine and USF under 50 points, the lowest point totals of the season by both teams. It is the first time since the 1984-85 season that the Lions have held two opponents under 50 points in a single season.
WAVED UNDER: In the win over Pepperdine, a night when LMU was honoring the highest scoring team in NCAA Division I history, the defense held the Waves to just 46 points on 29.6 percent shooting. LMU held Pepperdine to just one field goal the final 5:25 of the contest, going on a 13-2 run in the process that put the game away. It was the lowest scoring game for the Waves since scoring 44 in a loss to San Francisco in 1999 and the second lowest output in the last 45 years, going back to 1960-61 season when they scored just 40 in a game.
RECORD LOW: For the Lions, it was the fewest points allowed in a WCC game since February 28, 1964, when LMU defeated Pacific 43-42 in a WCAC game at Alumni Gymnasium. The last time LMU allowed as few as 46 points in any game was November 24, 1984, when the Lions defeated Cal Baptist 82-43 at Gersten Pavilion.
AND THE DONS: Against San Francisco, the Lions held the Dons to 49 points on 31.5 percent shooting, including a 29.2 percent clip in the second half. LMU forced the Dons into 22 turnovers and converted those into 18 points. The Lions held USF to just one field goal in the final eight minutes of the game to erase an 11-point deficit to earn the win on a Matthew Knight three-point play with 19 seconds remaining.
GO TO GUY
Sophomore Matthew Knight continues to be the go-to-guy for the Lions, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds on 10-for-16 shooting against San Diego and then hitting the game winner against San Francisco. Against USD it was his seventh 20-point game of the season and his shot against USF with 19 seconds remaining was his second game winning shot. He hit the other on an offensive putback against Northern Arizona. Knight also earned his second straight double-double with 19 points and a career-best 12 rebounds against NAU. The Australian native is the first player since Ime Oduok in 1994 to have back-to-back double-double games. On the season he has scored in double figures in 20 of the Lions' 23 games. He currently averages 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and he enters the week ranked eighth in the West Coast Conference in scoring and 10th in rebounding. His average is 10.7 points per game better than last season, the best turnaround among returning players from the 2003-04 season in the WCC. He also entered the week fourth in the conference in field goal percentage as he is now shooting 52.5 percent. He has been getting it done on the offensive end of the boards and is leading the WCC with 2.86 offensive rebounds per game.
STEALS
The LMU defense finds themselves in a familiar position this 2004-05 season - among the league leaders in steals. The Lions enter the week leading the West Coast Conference in steals with 8.7 per game, getting 12 against Portland. In the previous two seasons the Lions finished the year leading the league in steals. The 2004-05 season started with a bang for the Lions, as they had 10 or more steals in four straight games to start the year. It is the most steals to start a year since the 1989-90 team had 11 at UNLV (Nov. 15, 1989), 15 against Nevada (Nov. 25, 1989), 13 against Stetson (Dec. 1) and 19 at Jacksonville (Dec. 2). In that 1989-90 season, the Lions had 10 or more steals in the first nine games. Entering the week, a pair of Lions were ranked in the WCC's top-10, as Brandon Worthy and Damian Martin are second (2.21) and seventh (1.70), respectively. Worthy had five against San Diego and Martin had four against USF.
A LOOK AT GAME #24
This will be the 63rd meeting between Gonzaga and LMU. The Zags hold a 43-19 edge in the overall series and are 16-11 at Gersten Pavilion. Gonzaga took the first meeting 76-65 in Spokane, Wash., on Jan. 13. LMU (9-7, 1-2) sophomore Matthew Knight paced both teams with 20 points and nine rebounds. Junior John Haywood continued his hot play in conference play with 13 points and six rebounds, while junior Wes Wardrop added 12. J.P. Batista led five Bulldogs (12-3, 2-1) in double figures with 17. It was the first home game in over a month for the Zags, as they jumped out to a lead as large as 15 in the first half and enter the locker room with a 40-27 lead. The Lions struggled in the first half, starting the game 0-for-11 from the three-point line and hitting just 32.4 percent from the field. The Lions did recover in the second half. Down 13 with 17:20 remaining, the Lions went on a 11-1 run to make it 45-42 with 13:41 remaining on a jumper by Haywood in the paint. LMU would keep the lead at three with a jumper by freshman Jon Ziri, a pair of his five points on the game, with 12:06 remaining. Gonzaga would get the lead back to nine, 53-44, with 10:59 remaining on a dunk by Ronny Turiaf, who finished the game with 16 points and seven rebounds. LMU would not go away and another 11-3 run over a five-minute span put the Lions within one, 58-57 with 5:43 remaining in the game. During the run four different players scored, capped by Haywood's jumper. The Lions were down two when Wardrop's three-pointer missed with 5:11 remaining that would have given the Lions the lead. The Lions finished the game with 20 assists, including a monster game from sophomore Damian Martin. The Australian native finished with seven assists and eight rebounds with just one turnover in 33 minutes. Down four with 4:52 remaining, the Lions cut it back to a pair on Haywood's free throws, making it 61-59. Derek Ravio, who finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, hit a three-pointer to make it 64-59 with 4:38 remaining. It was just one of three three-pointers on the game for Gonzaga. The Lions managed to get the lead to three one more time on a jumper by Dustin Brown with 3:35 remaining, making it 66-63. The Lions would get no closer as the Zags finished the game hitting 27-for-39 from the free throw line. LMU held the Zags to just nine field goals in the second half.
GETTING O FROM THE D
Through non-conference the Lions have scored nearly 30 percent of its points off turnovers, including a season best 31 on 26 turnovers against Portland. This season they have scored 458 points thanks to 414 forced turnovers. LMU has forced opponents to an average of 18.0 turnovers per game (best in the WCC), leading to an average of 19.9 points per game. The Lions forced Portland into a season-high 26 turnovers, gathering 12 steals and scoring the 31 points. The previous high in conference player was against San Diego in which 24 turnovers led to a season-best 13 steals and 29 points for the Lions. The Lions have scored at least 20 points off turnovers 10 times this season.
- GO LIONS -
