Nov. 8, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
With just one exhibition game as teammates in a Loyola Marymount uniform, the Lions' 14-man roster will begin the 2007-08 season officially when they travel to UC Irvine to take on the Anteaters on Friday, Nov. 9 in Crawford Court at 7:35 p.m. The Lions probable starting line-up enters the game with no starts and just 19 games combined at the NCAA Division I level. LMU will look to continue its fortunes on opening night as they have won the previous two season openers under Head Coach Rodney Tention. The game can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM or online at LMULions.com.
YOUNG GUNS
In the Lions exhibition game against Cal State Dominguez Hills, they started a line-up featuring 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. All told, the roster has played in a combined 247 games with the Lions while averaging just 12.8 minutes per game in those games. The lone senior on the squad is Jon Ziri, who has played in 83 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.
SEASON OPENERS
After opening the 2005-06 season on the road for the first time in four years, the Lions return to the friendly confines of Gersten Pavilion to open a season for the fifth time in six years in 2006-07. They posted a Oral Roberts, who went onto the NCAA tournament, 68-65. LMU will be back on the road to open the 2007-08 season, traveling to UC Irvine. The Lions are 35-17 in season openers since it joined the West Coast Conference in 1955-56. LMU has won five straight to open a season, last falling to Samford 72-60 in a neutral game at the University of Alabama. LMU has not lost a true road opener since Nov. 15, 1997 when they fell at UNLV, 96-81. They last lost a home opener on Nov. 17, 1998, a 98-92 setback to Long Beach State.
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 83 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 85 total steals, earning 47 as a sophomore in 2005-06. He averaged 5.3 points with 53 assists and 30 steals a year ago.
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.
LAST TIME OUT
For the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team, their starting line-up for their lone exhibition game of the 2007-08 season featured a starting line-up with zero previous starts at the NCAA Division I level and just 19 combined games of D-I experience. Such is life for the Lions who feature a line-up with nine underclassmen. The result was one of promise and inexperience as the Lions fell to a much-more battled tested Toros team 84-69 at Gersten Pavilion Saturday night. "Our goal tonight was to play everybody and see what they could do," said Head Coach Rodney Tention. "We had a line-up with three freshman, a junior college transfer and a sophomore. We had moments we looked and others, not so well. But this was our first time in uniforms together." Two of the Lions starting freshman came up big for the Lions as Orlando Johnson and Tim Diederichs scored 20 and 15 points respectively. The Lions also had some experience step-up as the only senior, Jon Ziri, came up big down the stretch with 14 points and team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (five). "I was pleased with the play of a few guys," said Tention. "What we are lacking is game experience and we gained our first experience as a group without running any of our set offense and playing very conservative. It shows that we will have to come and battle every night and not take any nights off." Part of the Lions' inexperience showed in turnovers as they committed 20 to just 12 by the Toros, who featured an older line-up with four seniors. CSUDH capitalized by hitting 35 of 71 from the field (49.3 percent), compared to just 22 made field goals for the Lions (22-of-60). "We turned the ball over way too much and did not play well in our transition defense," said Tention. "Bottom line for us is that are record is 0-0 and we have a chance to improve for our season opener against UC Irvine."
LAST TIME AGAINST UCI
Loyola Marymount, playing in their ninth game in 22 days following a six-game road swing, went to a full court press for 40 full minutes to defeat UC Irvine 73-65 at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday night. It was the Lions first home game since Nov. 19 as 11 players made the full court press effective for LMU. The Lions forced 16 turnovers and committed a season-low six themselves to improve to 7-4 on the season and remain perfect at home with a 4-0 mark this season and 11-5 overall under Head Coach Rodney Tention. The Anteaters fall to 3-5 on the year. The six turnovers is the lowest since the Lions had six against Santa Clara in January of 2003. The Lions committed six on Jan. 16, 1993 against Gonzaga. The six turnovers is the record low for the program since at least 1980. Senior Brandon Worthy had 16 points and six assists while fellow senior Matthew Knight went for 15 points and 10 rebounds, his 22nd career double-double. While Worthy and Knight continued their consistent play, the Lions' win was a balanced attack. Senior Adoyah Miller had 14 points in his first start of the year, while senior John Montgomery and junior Jon Ziri each had eight. The game featured 10 lead changes and 10 ties as the Lions took a halftime lead for the first time in five games, 30-28. However, UC Irvine took a six-point lead with 13:43 remaining when Patrick Sanders, who led the Anteaters with 18 points, hit a jumper to make it 44-38. LMU would go on a 5-0 run to get back to within one and then took the lead with 9:06 remaining on a Ziri three-pointer. The game would then be tied or have a lead change 11 times over the next five minutes. The Lions constant pressure finally broke through as the Lions posted up six straight points to take a 68-62 lead. The run started with a steal by Worthy and a jumper by Miller with 3:38 remaining to go up 64-62. The Lions forced another UCI turnover on a Worthy steal that was converted on a Knight lay-up to make it 66-62. With 1:58 remaining Montgomery hit a pair of free throws to go up 68-62. A Darren Fells lay-up cut the lead to four, 68-64, with 1:33 remaining. Fells finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. The teams traded a free throw before Miller drained four straight free throws to secure the 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 - 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.
#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.
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. Here is a quick introduction.
#2 Quentin Turner - 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.
#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 this 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.
#32 Tim Diederichs - 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 - 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.
LIONS AT HOME
The Lions finished the 2006-07 season 8-5 at home, with four setbacks coming on a halfcourt buzzer beater to Long Beach State, two missed shots at the buzzer to San Francisco (which went to overtime) and Pepperdine, and a five-point setback to San Diego. Overall, LMU is 15-10 at Gersten under Head Coach Rodney Tention. The Lions averaged 2,393 fans per game in 2006-07, the most since the Elite Eight run of 1989-90 when they averaged 4,037 in the 4,156-seat Gersten Pavilion. The Lions drew 31,114 fans in one home season for the first time since 1992-93 and for just the sixth time since the building opened in the 1981-82 season. The Lions are now 191-156 all-time in Gersten.
HISTORICAL THREE
Since the three-point field goal was introduced in the 1986-87 season, Loyola Marymount men's basketball has had just one game where they have not had a three-pointer. In the 611 games the Lions have played since the three-point line was instituted, the Lions have hit three-pointers in 610 of them. The only "miss" came on Dec. 19, 1995 when the Lions went 0-for-6 in an 82-80 win over Hawaii. That game snapped a 271 consecutive three-pointer streak for the Lions. They currently have made a three-pointer in 338 straight games heading into the game against UC Irvine.
LIONS IN OT
The Lions have played three overtime games this season, going 2-1 in those games. LMU claimed double overtime wins over Pacific and Boise State but fell to USF in a single overtime. The Lions are 4-2 under Head Coach Rodney Tention in overtime, going 2-1 in Tention's first season. LMU is 27-39 in overtime games with the first overtime game coming in the 1926-27 season against California Christian College, a 16-14 win for the Lions. As for double overtime, the Lions improved to 9-1 with the win over Boise State, winning their sixth straight. The longest game in LMU history was a five-overtime affair against Fresno State in 1957. The Lions lost 92-90.
Rodney Tention
When Rodney Tention arrived on the campus of Loyola Marymount University as the 23rd head coach of the men's basketball program in 2005, many things had not changed in the conference he once played in. As a familiar face to those in the West Coast Conference, Tention was well known as one of the many reasons the WCC is among the top in Division I basketball. All Tention did in his first season as an NCAA Division I head coach is lead the Lions to levels of success that have not been seen in 17 years. Tention took over the Lions and led them to a second place finish in the WCC and an appearance in the WCC Tournament Championship. Tention helped LMU to an 8-6 WCC mark in his first season, the most WCC wins since 1991-92 and 1995-96. He is now 24-36 in his two seasons at LMU. The success in his first season at LMU came as no surprise to those who have followed the San Francisco alum. Tention played three seasons with San Francisco and joins the Lions after eight seasons as an assistant at the University of Arizona. Tention has been no stranger to success. In 10 seasons at the NCAA Division I level, Tention has helped coach teams to 10 straight postseason appearances, including nine trips to the NCAA tournament. He received a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of San Francisco in 1988 and earned a master's in public administration from the College of Notre Dame in 1995. He has a son Nathan, while he and his wife, Rebecca, have two sons, Justice and Miles.
- GO LIONS -
