Nov. 16, 2006
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In two games of the 2006-07 season for the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team, the Lions have seen both sides of the spectrum. They started with an impressive come-from-behind win against a team picked to win their conference. However, the latest result was a tough shooting night in a setback to Mississippi State on Monday. The Lions now return home hoping that Gersten Pavilion will get them back as they host New Mexico State on Friday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. It will be the Lions third game in seven days as it is Homecoming on the LMU campus. The game will be televisied live on CSTV and can also be heard live on Lions' All-Access through LMULions.com and KXLU 88.9 FM.
KNIGHT HONORS
The West Coast Conference announced Monday that Loyola Marymount senior Matthew Knight is the first Player of the Week selection of the 2006-07 season for his performance against Oral Roberts on Friday, Nov. 10. It is Knight's second WCC Player of the Week award in his career. Knight scored 23 points on 10-for-14 shooting as the Lions posted an impressive 68-65 win over Oral Roberts on Friday, Nov. 10 in the season opener for both teams. Knight started the game hitting his first eight shots as he helped the Lions rally from a seven-point deficit to start 1-0. The senior from Australia added nine rebounds and played 36 minutes. He added three blocks and went 3-for-4 from the free throw line. It was his 18th game with 20 or more points in his career. The Player of the Week nominations for the WCC were for games ending on Nov. 12 and each week they are announced Monday morning.
WORTHY KNIGHT
The senior tandem of Brandon Worthy and Matthew Knight were stars as expected in the Lions season opener, scoring 42 of the Lions 68 points. Knight went for 23 points, nine boards and hit 10-of-14 from the field. Worthy took over down the stretch when the Lions needed him, scoring 19 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. "They are two competitive kids who want to win," said Tention, who improves to 2-0 in season openers as the Lions go to 35-17 in the first game of the year since 1955-56. "Our team knows that when Brandon and Matty are playing well, we are playing well. They are good." That was evident in the Lions' first setback of the season on Monday as Worthy led the team with 11 points, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line. However, the senior was just 2-for-10 from the field. Knight added 10 points and seven board, but only had eight shot attempts, hitting three. For the game, the Lions' guards went 4-for-34 from the field.
UP NEXT
The Lions will face their first of three possible WAC opponents on the season when they host New Mexico State on Nov. 17. It is the first meeting between the schools since the Lions upset the Aggies in the first round of the 1990 NCAA Tournament. The Aggies hold a 5-3 edge in the series as they enter the ninth all-time meeting. Against the WAC the Lions are 71-65 all-time, facing former WCAC members Nevada and San Jose State for the majority of those meetings. New Mexico State started the season with a win over Pacific on Tuesday, winning down the stretch 76-74. Guard Fred Peete led the team with 19 points as four players scored in double digits, including 18 points and nine boards from forward Justin Hawkins. New Mexico State was picked to finish second in the WAC by both the media and coaches.
DEFENSE
The Lions have been getting it done on the defensive end in the first two games of the season, allowing just 63 points by opponents. LMU held Oral Roberts, one the nation's leading scoring teams a year ago to just 65 and then held Mississippi State, who had over 90 in their first game, to just 61. Teams are shooting just 42 percent from the field and 24 percent from the three-point line in the two games.
TAKING THE FIFTH
The Lions have a top and bottom heavyroster this 2006-07 season. LMU has four fifth-year seniors in Brandon Worthy, Derick Grubb, Adoyah Miller and John Montgomery. They have a fourth senior in four-year player Matthew Knight. As a group they have combined to play 320 games heading into the New Mexico State game on Friday, Nov. 17. The other half of the Lions' roster includes five scholarship freshmen in Max Craig, Mason Maynard, Brad Sweezy, Terron Sutton and Shawn Deadwiler. Seniors and freshmen combine for 10 of the Lions 16 roster spots.
PRESEASON TOP-25
The preseason expectations and honors continue for LMU as they have been ranked No. 16 in the CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major Top-25. It is the first time the Lions have made the poll since it began in 2000. The Lions were voted to finish the West Coast Conference in second place this season, according to the annual preseason coaches' poll. Creighton took home the No. 1 spot. All told the Lions have five teams currently ranked in the poll on their schedule this season. They have No. 2 Gonzaga twice with play in the West Coast Confefence. They also play at No. 8 Akron on Dec. 28, No. 23 Long Beach State at Gersten Pavilion on Dec. 22 while traveling to No. 24 Sam Houston State on Dec. 6.
COACHES' POLL
When first-year Head Coach Rodney Tention led the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team to the West Coast Conference Championship and within seconds of its first NCAA trip in March, he made strides in the LMU program that had not been made in 17 years. More history is being written as Tention in his second year has his Lions picked to challenge for the WCC title and tabbed second by the WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll. It is the team's highest preseason ranking in 17 years. The Lions earned 51 points to edge out the University of San Francisco (50 points) for second place in the annual poll. Gonzaga finds themselves still as the team to beat, earning six first place votes and 62 total points. LMU has turned many heads with their performance in the WCC tournament a year ago and have the pieces in place that have them as a top contender in 2006-07. The Lions might have two of the better players in the WCC in seniors Brandon Worthy (6-2, 205, Sr., San Jose, CA) and Matthew Knight (6-8, 240, Sr., Tasmania, Australia), a pair of WCC first-team selections who both scored their 1,000th career point in the WCC tournament. Both have been tabbed by the coaches as two of the top-six returning players for the upcoming 2006-07 season and are possibly the league's best inside-outside tandem.
WHY THE HYPE
What a first season it was for Rodney Tention and the Loyola Marymount men's basketball program. After growing pains in non-conference saw them stuck with five setbacks coming at the buzzer and/or overtime, Tention stayed focused, kept things simple and knew his team would gel. They did, and it came in a way LMU fans had not seen in almost two decades. The success has the Lions looking for even more for the upcoming 2006-07 season and facing much higher expectations. The Lions finished in second place in the WCC, tied with Saint Mary's at 8-6. It was the most WCC wins since the 1996 and 1992 seasons. With the number two seed in the WCC tournament, the Lions defeated Saint Mary's for the first semifinal win since 1989 and the first championship game appearance since that same year. In the title game the Lions fell to fourth-ranked Gonzaga on the Bulldog's home floor at the buzzer.
THE CHALLENGE
Entering in his second season, Tention will have to combine returning talent with the league's largest recruiting class of true freshman and a transfer from a local rival. The Lions return three starters and nine letterwinners from last year's squad. In the transition from 2005-06 to 2006-07, Tention will have to overcome the loss of five players, four of whom played four years in the program and leave having played 331 games together as Lions (Chris Ayer, Dustin Brown, John Haywood, Wes Wardrop) and another due to injury (Daryl Pegram). "The important part of replacing solid starters like Chris and Wes is to challenge everyone coming in to step up their game," said Tention. "We also have to challenge each of our returning players to become better as leaders. We will challenge the newcomers to put in the work that it takes to win at this level."
ONE-TWO 1,000-point PUNCH
The Lions might have two of the better players in the WCC in seniors Worthy and Knight, a pair of WCC first-team selections who both scored their 1,000th career point in the WCC tournament and are preseason All-WCC and All-American candidates. With the attention, the duo find themselves as one of the best returning inside-outside tandem in the league and player of the year candidates. "The leadership of Brandon and Matty is important. They are going to have to be really good senior leaders," said Tention. "They are no different than any of the higher profile players. They are going to get a lot of attention from our opponents and they will not be able to do it themselves." Both proved up to the challenge as they scored 42 of the Lions 68 points on Friday. Knight now has 1,038 career points, moving him to 26th all-time in LMU history, tied with John Arndt. Worthy's has 1,045 points in his career, moving him to 25th all-time in LMU history.
A KNIGHT'S TALE
Senior Matthew Knight finished with 17 double-doubles in 2005-06, bringing his total to 19 in his career. The WCC Player of the Year candidate had consecutive double-double streaks of six and four as he continues to put his name in the LMU record books. His 17 was the most since Hank Gathers had 26 in the 1988-89 season and ranks him seventh all-time for single season double-doubles. His 19 in his career is now tied for sixth in program history, passing Mark Armstrong (1984-88). He had a stretch of six straight last year, putting him in even more elite company. He is just the fifth player in 96 years of college basketball at LMU to have a consecutive game streak of six or more, joining a list of Jim Haderlein, Steve Smith, Hank Gathers and Brad Dean. All five finished in the top-25 all-time in LMU scoring. This season he is at it again, averaging 16.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks through the first two games this year.
Knight scored his 1,000th career point against Gonzaga in the WCC tournament in 2006, making him the 28th player to hit the 1,000-point mark. He is also the 22nd player in LMU history to reach 500 rebounds in his career. He is just the 12th player in LMU history to score 1,000 career points with 500 career rebounds. He has 537 rebounds, 19th all-time, just two behind Dick Sebek for 18th. Knight concluded 2006 seventh overall in the WCC in scoring with 16.2 points per game and is fifth in conference games at 17.6 ppg. He led the league in rebounding with 10.0 per game overall and 10.6 in WCC play. He was also fourth overall in field goal percentage (51.9), first in offensive rebounds (3.73), second in defensive rebounds (6.23), and 9th in blocked shots (.82). Knight earned Player of the Week honors in the WCC on Jan. 10 after averaging 22 ppg and 11 rpg in the home sweep to start WCC play.
WORTHY SEASON
Brandon Worthy, who also scored his 1,000th career point at the WCC tournament, has been named by CollegeInsider.com as a preseason Mid-Major All-American. Worthy, a first-team All-West Coast Conference selection in 2006, is one of 25 players voted on the annual list. Worthy finished his junior campaign averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. The fifth-year senior who earned his degree in Philosophy in May is working towards a second degree this year in Liberal Studies. He was voted by the WCC coaches as a preseason All-WCC selection. He is averaging 15.0 points, 4.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in through the first two games this season.
Worthy concluded the 2006 season on a hot streak. He led all scorers with 27 points against Saint Mary's and in the last nine games of the season he led the Lions with 20 points per game. In that stretch he scored 20 or more points six times while his aggressive play set the tone for the Lions. He averaged more than eight free throw attempts while making 7.2 per game, adding 4.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He finished the year ranked fifth in free throw percentage (82.2), third in assists (4.33), third in steals (1.77 and third in assist/turnover ration (1.6).
By going 11-for-12 from the free throw line with eight assists and three steals this season, Worthy continues to add to his school records. He is fifth all-time with 387 free throws made, ninth in assists with 280 and eighth in steals with 136.
ALSO BACK
Joining Worthy and Knight as a returning starter will be redshirt junior Jon Ziri (6-2, 200, Jr., Tempe, AZ). The fourth-year player from Arizona was one of the biggest surprises of 2005-06. After being inserted into the starting line-up in the fourth game of the season, Ziri became a jack-of-all-trades for the Lions. Ziri finished the season averaging 25.3 minutes, up from eight he averaged the year prior. He averaged 5.8 points, 4.3 rebounds while earning 72 assists and 47 steals, which was second on the squad. Ziri is averaging 18.5 minutes, 2.5 points with three assists in two games on the year.
Also returning in 2006-07 for the Lions will be senior John Montgomery (6-1, 175, Sr., Menlo Park, CA) and sophomore Marko Deric (6-9, 230, So., Perth, Australia). In his fifth-year as a Lion, Montgomery proved big off the bench. He played in all 30 games while averaging 14.4 minutes a contest, both personal highs. The back-up point guard provided steady play in crunch time for Tention, dishing out 63 assists, hitting 14 three-pointers with 19 steals. He went for two points, two boards and an assist in 14 minutes against ORU. Deric is averaging 16.5 minutes per game this season, averaging 4.0 points per contest with 4.0 rebounds. Montgomery is at 12.5 minutes with an assist.
Damian Martin (6-2, 200, Jr., NSW, Australia) the fourth-year player from Australia was forced to serve a medical redshirt season in 2005-06 due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered while playing the Australian National Team. He was never able to practice for the Lions in Tention's first season. In his first two seasons, Martin played in 57 games, starting in 36 of them. He averaged 27 minutes with 4.3 points per game. He added 173 assists and 93 steals to rank among the leaders during both seasons. In his first games in nearly two years, he is averaging 28 minutes with 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
A NEW TWIST
Possibly the missing piece to the Lions puzzle is fifth-year transfer Derick Grubb (6-9, 255, Sr., Grapevine, TX). Thanks to the new transfer rule, Grubb joins the Lions in his fifth year of eligibility. A new rule for men's basketball allows a fifth-year senior who has earned his undergraduate degree to transfer to a new school without having to sit out a season. Grubb earned his degree at Pepperdine in May of 2006. Grubb played in 85 games for the Waves in four seasons. Grubb had his best season a year ago with 4.3 points and 3.6 rebounds. In addition, he hit 16 three pointers on the season, this coming after attempting just one three-pointer in his previous three campaigns. Grubb had 10 points with three rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes against Oral Roberts and is averaging 7.5 points through two games. Tention signed five true freshmen to letters of intent heading into the season. Max Craig (7-0, 260, Fr., Quebec, Canada), Shawn Deadwiler II (6-3, 175, Fr., Chandler, AZ), Mason Maynard (6-9, 220, Fr., Glendale, AZ), Terron Sutton (6-9, 230, Fr., Los Angeles, CA) and Brad Sweezy (6-6, 195, Fr., Westminster, CA) will all join the Lions this coming season. Craig was the only newcomer to play in the opener, earning five minutes with a rebound. Sweezy and Maynard earned their first minutes against Mississippi State Monday.
- GO LIONS -
