Feb. 2, 2005

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BRIEFLY
Following a memorable evening in a 63-46 win over its rival on Saturday, the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team will hope to carry that momentum into the final half of conference play. The Lions will play five of its final seven on the road, starting with San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 3 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Lions find themselves in a four-way tie for fifth place at 2-5 in WCC play and 10-10 overall. San Diego, in that tie with the Lions, is also 10-10 on the season. The game will be broadcast live on the Lions' Audio Network and will be on local television in San Diego, airing on San Diego's Channel 4. The game starts at 7 p.m.

RECORD CROWD
The Lions win over Pepperdine on Saturday came in front of the fifth-largest crowd in LMU history, 4,302. The standing-room only crowd was the first sellout since Feb. 24, 1990 when the Lions defeated Santa Clara, 117-81. Here is the list of top crowds at Gersten Pavilion:

Feb. 20, 1988 vs. Pepperdine	4,525	W, 142-127
Feb. 15, 1986 vs. Pepperdine	4,465	L, 79-64
Feb. 3, 1989 vs. Saint Mary's	4,366	L, 116-104
Jan. 29, 1989 vs. Pepperdine	4,350	W, 99-86
Jan. 29, 2004 vs. Pepperdine	4,302	W, 63-46

GETTING DEFENSIVE
In a night when LMU was honoring the highest scoring team in NCAA Division I history, it was defense that helped the Lions to a 63-46 win over rival Pepperdine. The Lions held the Waves to 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. 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. The Lions are no stranger to tough defense under fifth-year coach Steve Aggers. The Lions held Santa Clara to just 48 points a year ago and LMU improves to 18-1 under Aggers when holding opponents under 60 points.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Charles 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 109 career games to give him 1000 points, 383 assists and 171 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.

A WORTHY AFFECT
After playing without three starters last weekend against Santa Clara and Saint Mary's, the Lions earned a big boost with the return of two of them to the line-up. Sophomores Daryl Pegram and Brandon Worthy provided a big spark for the Lions in their return on Saturday, coming off the bench in the win. Pegram, who missed two games with a left knee injury, played 17 minutes to score nine points with eight rebounds, tied for the game high with teammate Matthew Knight. Worthy returned for the first time after missing nine games due to knee surgery on Dec. 29. With Worthy and Pegram both in the line-up the Lions improved to 8-3 on the season. Worthy's impact has been great in his return to the Lions this season after missing all of last year on a medical redshirt with a broke wrist in his shooting hand. With Worthy in the line-up, the Lions are 5-1 at home and average 74.5 points per game while allowing just 66.7. From the field they have held opponents to 42.2 percent from the field and 36.3 from the three point line while averaging nine steals per game. Offensively they are shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 40.3 from the three-point line.

GO TO GUY
Sophomore Matthew Knight continues to be the go-to-guy for the Lions, earning his second straight double-double with 19 points and a career-best 12 rebounds against Northern Arizona and earning his sixth 20-point game of the season with 20 points and six rebounds against Santa Clara. 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 18 of the Lions' 20 games. He currently averages 15.8 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 10.8 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 54.3 percent. He has been getting it done on the offensive end of the boards and is leading the WCC with 2.95 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 currently lead the West Coast Conference in steals with 8.6 per game, getting eight in the win over Pepperdine. 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, three Lions were ranked in the WCC's top-10, as Brandon Worthy, Damian Martin and Charles Brown are second (2.18), seventh (1.65) and ninth (1.60), respectively.

A LOOK AT GAME #21
The Lions will start the second half of conference play with the University of San Diego, who enters the week with an identical record to that of the Lions. The Toreros (10-10, 2-5) have dropped three straight and earned a 68-65 come-from-behind win over the Lions in the first meeting of the season. Both teams traded leads in the final 16 seconds, but it was Avi Fogel's lay-in with 11 seconds remaining that was the game winner. Trailing 64-63, the Lions executed a called play and junior Wes Wardrop hit a 10-footer with 16 seconds remaining to give LMU a 65-64 lead. It was short lived as Fogel drove the length of the court and banked in a lay-in with 11 seconds for the 66-65 lead. LMU would turn the ball over, one of 19 on the game, and were forced to foul Floyd North. He hit both free throws to make it 67-65 with eight seconds remaining. The Lions had one last shot as Wardrop curled from the left side and had an open look. His three-point attempt rimmed out. Senior Charles Brown led the Lions with 14 points, while junior John Haywood added 13 and sophomore Matthew Knight had 11. It was a career-high for Haywood. Fogel led all players with 17 points, while Brice Vounang added 15 and Nick Lewis scored 12. The Lions hold a 35-33 edge in the series and are 3-6 against the Toreros under Steve Aggers. Brice Vounang, the newcomer of the year in 2004, continues to lead the team in scoring with 16.1 poitns per game. Brandon Gay, the cousin of former Lion Sherman Gay, has been on fire in conference, averaging a team-high 18.4 against WCC opponents.

GETTING O FROM THE D
Through non-conference the Lions have scored 398 points thanks to 345 forced turnovers. LMU has forced opponents to an average of 17.2 turnovers per game (second in the WCC), leading to an average of 19.45 points per game. The Lions equalled a season-high as they forced San Diego into 24 turnovers. The turnovers led to a season-best 13 steals and 29 points for the Lions. It was one of eight games on the season the Lions have scored at least 20 points off turnovers.

OFFENSIVE GLASS
The Lions have had at least 11 offensive rebounds in 14 this season, and set a season-high with 21 against Portland. The Lions had a nine-game stretch with at least 10 snapped in the win over USF. They had 20 offensive rebounds against San Diego State and Colgate in back-to-back games. It is the first time since Head Coach Steve Aggers' first season (2000-01) the Lions have had two games in one season with 20 or more offensive boards. In total, the Lions had just three games with 20 or more heading into this season in the tenure of Coach Aggers. The Lions had 25 at UNLV (Jan. 3, 2001), 21 vs. Pepperdine (Feb. 21, 2003) and 20 vs. PEP (Jan. 17, 2001).

UNDER 60
Defense has become the Lions' trademark under Head Coach Steve Aggers and it was at its finest last weekend. For the fifth time this season the Lions held an opponent to under 60 points thanks to limiting the Waves to just 46 on Saturday. During the 2003-04 season, the Lions set an impressive mark by holding six opponents under 60 points. It was the most in any one season during the modern era of basketball, dating back more than 40 years. The last team to have more than six games holding an opponent under 60 points was the 1962-63 squad coached by John Arndt. They held teams under 60 points in seven games that season. For the last two season the Lions have now held at least one conference opponent under 50 points, holding Santa Clara on Feb. 12, 2004, to just 48. The Lions improve to 18-1 in games holding opponents under 60 points during Coach Aggers tenure.

THE NATION'S FINEST
For the third consecutive week, the West Coast Conference maintained its No. 7 ranking in the Collegiate Basketball News men's conference RPI rankings. The WCC, which is listed above other highly regarded conference's such as Conference USA, the Missouri Valley, the Atlantic 10, and the Mountain West, achieved the No. 7 listing, the highest in league history, on January 17. The only conferences ranked ahead of the WCC are the six BCS conferences with the ACC leading the way, followed by the Pac-10, the Big East, the Big 12, the Big Ten and the Southeastern conference. The WCC, along with the ACC and the Pac-10, are the only conferences in the country that can boast all of their member institutions with Sagarin ratings in the top 140. In addition, the WCC and the ACC are joined by the Big 12 as the only conferences in the country that can claim that all of their member institutions own winning records. Three WCC schools are ranked among the nation's elite as Gonzaga, San Francisco, and Saint Mary's all own top 35 RPI's. Gonzaga is ranked No. 11 in this week's Collegiate Basketball News RPI rankings, while the streaking San Francisco Dons are ranked No. 32 and the talented Saint Mary's Gaels are listed No. 35. In addition, Portland is ranked No. 98, giving the WCC half of its member schools with top 100 RPIs. Rounding out the WCC is Santa Clara at No. 127, followed by Pepperdine (144), Loyola Marymount (149), and San Diego (162).

BENCH SCORING
During a rash of injuries by three starters, the Lions' bench provided a big lift for the injury depleted Lions and they came through again in the weekend series against Santa Clara and Saint Mary's. After scoring 12 points against Santa Clara, the Lions' bench outscored Saint Mary's 36-8. It has been a collective effort as juniors Dustin Brown, Chris Ayer, Wes Wardrop and freshman Jon Ziri have been big off the bench. Wardrop had his best game of the season with 14 points off the bench against Saint Mary's, hitting 5-of-8 from the field, including 3-for-5 from long range. He led the bench with 12 against Gonzaga and nine against Portland. Brown led the bench with eight against both USF and USD. In the win over Northern Arizona, LMU had 29 points from their bench, including a season-best 10 from Ayer. The Lions' bench out scored Washington 35-7 thanks to Brown's season-high 18 points. Ziri then powered the bench scoring in the 72-68 win over San Diego State with his career-high 11 points. Brown was at it again in the win over Colgate with 14 points and then 15 in the heartbreaker to #25 Virginia. In the final two games of non-conference, the Lions had 19 bench points against Utah State, earning another eight from Brown, and 21 against Minnesota, another 10 coming from the junior Ayer.

QUITE THE ROLE
Junior Dustin Brown has become the Lions go-to-player off the bench and earned his first career starts against Saint Mary's and Santa Clara. In his third season with the program, Brown is having a career campaign, averaging 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. In the win over USF he set a career-high with 11 rebounds and his 12 blocks is a career high. On the season, Brown has been impressive from the field, shooting better than 50 percent in nine games this season. Included in those games is a 7-for-10 effort against Washington, a 7-for-11 game at Colgate and another 7-for-10, this one against Virginia.

MORE CAREER MARKS
Junior Charles Brown led the West Coast Conference in steals for the second straight season as he added to his career total with a league-leading 58 in the 2003-04 campaign. He became the first player in eight years to lead the WCC in steals back-to-back seasons. He was the first Lion to lead the conference in steals since Haywood Eaddy did it in 1997-98. His two steals against Colgate (12-21-04) replaced Tom Peabody (155) for fifth all-time in LMU history and he now has 171 career steals. Brown has 32 steals this season. Brown's 61 in 2003 ranked sixth best in a single season in LMU history and his 55 in 2004 was 11th best all-time. He had 20 in his first season.