Nov. 15, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The Loyola Marymount men's basketall program (0-2) will head to the 2007 BTI Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico at The Pit in Albuquerque, NM this weekend. The Lions will open the tournament with St. Bonaventure (1-1) on Friday, Nov. 16 at 4:00 p.m. It is the Lions only tournament appearance of the non-conference season as they will also play Presbyterian on Saturday and host New Mexico on Sunday. The games can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM or online at LMULions.com.
TOURNAMENTS
The Lions have played in a non-conference tournament every year since 2001. Prior to 2001, the Lions had only played in one since 1991. The Lions finished second at the Great Alaska Shootout a year ago. Since 2001, the Lions have played in the Great Alaska Shootout twice, the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, the Gosner Foods Classic hosted by Utah State, the Mohegan Sun Classic hosted by Central Connecticut State, the Big R Classic hosted by Montana State and the Guardian's Classic at the University of Alabama. The Lions won the Mohegan Sun Classic in 2003.
YOUNG GUNS
LMU opened its 2007-08 season featuring a line-up with three freshman (Terron Sutton, Orlando Johnson and Tim Diederichs), a junior college transfer (Quentin Turner) and a sophomore (Shawn Deadwiler). The second-year guard Deadwiler was the only one of the group that played a game in a Lions' uniform last year with 19 games. All told the Lions 14-man roster includes nine underclassmen, six of which are freshman. The roster entered the season with a combined 247 games with the Lions while averaging just 12.8 minutes per game. The lone senior on the squad is Jon Ziri, who has played in 85 games as a Lion. In Head Coach Rodney Tention's first two seasons he inherited teams top heavy with upper classmen as in 2005-06 when the Lions went to the WCC title game and a year ago, the roster had at least three players go over 100 games in their career during those seasons.
LMU'S JZ
The Lions lone senior in 2007-08 is Jon Ziri, a fifth-year player from Tempe, Ariz. Ziri leads the team with 85 games played, 42 starts and in diplomas. He earned his Business Administration degree in May and will complete his double major this year in Sociology. Possibly the most athletic player on the squad, the 6-2 Ziri enters his final season with a 4.6 points per game average. Labeled as a high-energy performer, Ziri's defense has been solid in his career with 86 total steals, earning 47 as a sophomore in 2005-06. He averaged 5.3 points with 53 assists and 30 steals a year ago. He opened his final season playing 12 minutes with two points, a rebound and a steal against UC Irvine. He was 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. At home against UALR, he scored eight points with seven rebounds, a team-high. In his career, Ziri is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game.
WHERE IT COUNTS
Loyola Marymount sophomore Corey Counts was named to the 2007 West Coast Conference Winter All-Academic team for his performance both in the classroom and on the hardwood for the LMU basketball team. The WCC all-academic teams honor some of the league's finest examples of the consummate scholar-athlete. Near the completion of each athletic season, the WCC selects an all-academic squad for each of the participating sponsored sports. Counts has gone from try-out walk-on to a valuable member to the Lions' squad. He is the back-up point guard for the Lions who is averaging nearly 12 minutes a game in WCC play, ranking third on the team in assists with 28 with an assists-to-turnover ration of nearly 2 to 1. Counts has a 3.08 GPA and is an Economics major. He opened his junior campaign playing just eight minutes due to a sprain in his right hand. He leads the team in assists through two games.
SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE
This will be the first meeting between St. Bonaventure and the Lions. The Bonnies are 1-1 on the season with a road loss at Boston, 68-57, and then a home win over Binghamton, 97-80, on Monday. Like the Lions, St. Bonaventure features a young squad with two starting freshman. However, they are led by a pair of starting seniors in Michael Lee and Zarryon Fereti. Lee leads the team with 25 points per game while Fereti is second with 17.6. The Bonnies finished 2007 at 7-22 overall and 4-12 in the Atlantic-10 conference.
AGAINST THE A-10
This will be the 22nd time the Lions will face a team from the current Atlantic 10 and the first time since the Lions traveled to Xavier in 1998. The Lions are 5-16 against the 14-team conference.
LAST TIME OUT
The learning process for the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team continues to be a hard one as Arkansas-Little Rock took it to the young Lions early and often to earn a 71-40 victory at Gersten Pavilion on Monday night. The Lions fall to 0-2 on the year while UALR improves to 2-0. "We are not a good team right now," said Head Coach Rodney Tention. "I am at a loss, I just don't know. We are doing noting right except turn the ball over. We are being very passive. I don't like the excuse that we are a young team anymore. We have to come out and compete." The attacking, press-oriented style of play used by UALR gave the Lions fits from the start as it took the Lions seven minutes to score their first points on an Orlando Johnson layin. It ended a 12-0 run for the Trojans to start the game. It set the tone the rest of the way as the Lions never recovered. LMU finished with just 13 points in the first half, the fewest since it joined the West Coast Conference over 50 years ago. In the half, the Lions shot just 21.7 percent, had 11 turnovers and were out rebounded 22-7. Senior Jon Ziri was the high scorer with three points. The second half wasn't much better as the Lions finished the game shooting just 21.2 percent (11-for-52) with 23 turnovers. UALR was 53.1 percent (26-for-49) and had 22 turnovers. UALR finished out rebounding LMU 43-30. The Lions did not have a player in double digits as freshman Tim Diederichs had nine points and senior Jon Ziri had eight. Ziri also had seven rebounds. Shane Edwards led all scorers with 14. "Our first two games have been a case where we need to get behind to play with some emotion. Not sure if it is me or if we are not used to the physical nature of the game," said Tention. "No one is going to be sympathetic to the fact that we are young. We are going to have to find a way to win."
SUPER SOPHS
Before the Lions current class of five newcomers, the Lions welcomed five freshman in 2006-07. Two of the five served redshirt seasons - Terron Sutton and Brad Sweezy. The other three saw considerable playing time as a true freshman.
#3 Shawn Deadwiler - In his first game as a starter, the second-year player from Arizona led the Lions with 15 points and was tied for the team-high with five rebounds. He was 5-for-10 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity strope. In his first season, he missed the first eight games of the season due to a knee injury but finished averaging 9.7 minutes in 19 games. Led the Lions in points in the season finale against Saint Mary's and had three four-assist games. He finished with 26 assists.
#4 Max Craig - The native of Canada played in 26 of the Lions' 31 games in his first season of collegiate basketball. He averaged eight minutes per game and scored eight points twice for his high. The seven-footer was solid from the charity stripe, going 18-for-27 and played big in the Lions come-from-behind win over New Mexico State, scoring eight points with three rebounds. He played just three minutes off the bench for the Lions in the opener against UC Irvine.
#50 Mason Maynard - The Glendale, Ariz., native earned seven starts in his first season, playing in 24 games overall. He averaged 9.9 minutes per game and 2.2 points. He had 38 rebounds and five blocks. He had a breakout game of 10 points against Sam Houston State and a 32-minute performance against Akron. He also played three minutes with a rebounds on Friday.
WHO THE HECK ARE YOU
After graduating nine players the last two seasons, this year's team features a completely different look than the last two seasons. In addition to the uniform change this season, the Lions feature five players new to LMU and two more who redshirted last year. Here is a quick introduction to the seven players making their debut this season.
#2 Quentin Turner - He opened the season as the team's starting point guard and played 21 minutes with four points and two assists. He is a junior college transfer from Motlow State Community College... Averaged 11.1 points per game and was third in the league in free throw shooting... Also ranked in top-10 in assists with 106 and steals with 71... A natural science major from Dickinson, Texas.
#10 Brad Sweezy - A medical redshirt due to a knee injury actually played three minutes last season against Mississippi State. However, in his first extended action, he came off the bench to play 16 minutes with two points and five rebounds. He is also a SoCal product, earning All-CIF honors at Ocean View HS.
#20 Terron Sutton - The local product from Price High School finally started in his first game as a Lion, playing 19 minutes with eight points, a team-tying five rebounds, a block and a steal. He was an All-CIF player in 2005 with Price. He was one of three freshman to start for the Lions in the opener.
#21 Isaiah Jenkins - A guard from right down the street at Westchester High School... First player from near-by high school power to play for Lions in more than 25 years... a three point shooter that averaged 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists... Undecided as a major and is slated to redshirt the 2007-08 season.
#22 Brandon Walker - A guard from Bishop O'Dowd High School that was named Bay Area Co-Player of the Year... He averaged 16 points and seven rebounds in his career, including a 24.5 points in two playoff games... A Liberal Arts major and a Business Management minor. He played 16 minutes off the bench in his first appearance with two rebounds and a steal.
#32 Tim Diederichs - One of the Lions three starting freshman, he played 23 minutes. He scored eight points with four rebounds and three assists, a team high. He was 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free throw line. A forward from Snohomish High School in Snohomish, Wash... Averaged 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists as a senior... Helped team go 25-3 in 2006-07, placing fifth in state... Earned 4A state honors as a senior... Undeclared as a major.
#33 Orlando Johnson - The third of three starting freshman, Johnson played 31 minutes, second to only Deadwiler's 32. He scored nine points with five rebounds and two assists. He had a team-high 20 points in the Lions' exhibition game. A forward from Salinas, Calif... Graduated from Palma High School where he was named Monterey County Player of the Year... Led Palma to Division IV crown and averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds as a senior... Team went 27-3 with a 19-game win streak last year... was an all-league football player. Raised by his brothers Jamell and Robert and is a Communications major.
-GO LIONS-
