Dec. 13, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format

With finals week wrapping up on Friday, the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team (3-7) will conclude a three-game road swing with a trip to UC Riverside (2-6) on Saturday, Dec. 15 with game time set for 7:00 p.m. The Lions will look to put together their first winning streak of the season after a solid road win over Boise State a week ago. They will take on a Riverside team who have also been off 11 days for finals and will be hosting just their third home game of the season. The game can be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM and LMULions.com.

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions snapped a three-game skid with an impressive come-from-behind win at Boise State on Dec. 8. The Lions erased a 17-point deficit and improved to 3-7 on the season. Junior walk-on guard Corey Counts earned his first start of the season and responded with nine points, al on three-pointers, including the game winning bank shot from 30-feet out with 17 seconds left. Counts has been big in the Lions' three wins this season, going for a career-best 10 with six assists in the first win at Presbyterian. He added seven points, all in the second half and overtime in the win over Mercer. Against Boise State, he played 28 minutes in the start and went 3-for-6 from the three-point line, all in the second half. He added five assists, three rebounds and had just two turnovers. He is averaging 4.3 points and 2.6 assists per game this season. Freshman Orlando Johnson still leads the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game, going for his first career double-double on Dec. 8 against Boise State. He scored 16 points with 11 rebounds, six assists and no turnovers. Against the Broncos, the Lions had four players in double figures as Tim Diederichs had 14, Jon Ziri 13 and Marko Deric 10. They scored a season-best 48 points in the second half.

IN THE WCC
Entering the week, freshman Orlando Johnson leads the team in scoring and is ranked 16th in the West Coast Conference at 11.5 points per game. Johnson is also ranked 13th in rebounds with 5.2 per game, 13th in three-pointer percentage at 39.0 percent and 11th in three-poiners made with 16. Sophomore Shawn Deadwiler is tied with Johnson for 11th in the WCC in three-pointers made with 16 while also ranking eighth in free throw percentage at 82.8 percent. Senior Jon Ziri is also in the rankings as his team-high 5.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.20 steals ranked 9th, 10th and 4th in the WCC. Junior Marko Deric finds himself in the rankings as well, sitting 10th with a field goal percentage of 48.6 and 9th in blocks with 0.7 per game. Corey Counts is also in the rankings this week after going 3-for-6 from long distance. He is ranked 7th with a three-point percentage of 43.5.

BEHIND THE COME BACK
For the first time this season the Lions fought from behind to earn a win in the 76-74 victory at Boise State. The Lions trailed 27-10 with just over eight minutes to play in the first half. In the first 12 minutes of the game, the Lions started the game 4-for-14 from the field (28.6 percent) while turning the ball over six times leading to six Boise State points. The Broncos meanwhile went 12-for-23 from the field (52.1 percent) with just three turnovers leading to just one Lion field goal (two points). The final 28 minutes of the game, it was a different story. The Lions outscored the Broncos 67-49 in that stretch. LMU went 25-for-45 (55.6 percent) from the field and turned the ball over just seven times. The turnovers led to just seven BSU points. The Lions defense held Boise State to just 38.9 percent shooting (14-for-36) and forced 11 turnovers that led to 14 Lion points. The 67 points the Lions scored in the final 28 minutes was more than all seven of their setbacks this season.

GROWING UP
The Lions' underclassmen continue to grow through just seven games this season. Tim Diederichs set a career-high with 14 against St. Bonaventure and then tied it against Boise State. Orlando Johnson netted a career-best 23 in the win against Presbyterian and added 21 against Merce. Freshman Brandon Walker had a break-out game against Mercer, going for nine points as eight different Lions had seven or more points in the win. Walker also had nine in the loss to San DIego State and then a career-best 10 against Long Beach State. Sophomore Shawn Deadwiler caught fire with 14 points against SDSU, 23 points against UCSB and 16 against Long Beach State, bumping his average to 9.6 per game. The Lions offense scored 83 points on 32-of-66 shooting in the win over Presbyterian. It was the Lions' best point production since scoring 88 against Pepperdine on Feb. 17. They did one better against Mercer, going for 97 in the overtime win. It was the most points in 10 seasons, as the Lions had 101 in a win over Saint Mary's in the 1997-98 season. LMU went 31-for-69 while hitting 12-for-30 from the three. The three-point total is the most since the Lions hit 12 on Jan. 29, 1999, also against Saint Mary's.

STAT STUFFER AT BTI
Senior Jon Ziri did "all the little things" according to Head Coach Rodney Tention, during the Lions four-game road trip that started at the BTI Invitational. His line scorers from the four-game road swing were impressive as he proved to be a stat stuffer. In the four games, Ziri averaged 11.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.5 steals. In the win over Presbyterian, he added a block and hit a 10-foot jumper in the final minute that put the game away. In scanning the stats, Ziri had just one zero in his entire line, going 0-for-1 at the free throw line. In his career-high outburst on Sunday against undefeated New Mexico, his stat line had no zeros in it. In the win over Mercer, his only zero was in the blocks.

FRESHMAN ALL-TOURNEY
Freshman Orlando Johnson is already making a name for himself just six games into his career. His 23 points against Presbyterian ranked 10th all-time in LMU history for single-game scoring by a freshman. He added 21 in the win over Mercer, which ranks 18th all-time and makes him the first freshman with multiple 20-points games since 1999-00. The point total against Presbyterian was the highest since Brandon Worthy scored 24 points in his debut against Loyola of Chicago on Nov. 22, 2002. Johnson went 9-for-14 from the field and 3-of-6 from the three-point line. He was also 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and had seven rebounds, an assist, block and a steal. Johnson has scored 115 points through 10 games, the best point total by a freshman since Brandon Worthy had 121 in his first 10 games.

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 93 games played, 50 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 107 total steals, 22 this season and a career-best 47 as a sophomore in 2005-06. Ziri is currently fourth on the team in scoring this season at 8.1 and leads the team in rebounds (5.9 rpg), assists (3.0 apg) and steals (2.2 spg). He set career-highs with 19 points against New Mexico, 12 rebounds against UC Santa Barbara, and has equalled career highs with seven assists and four steals.

WHERE IT COUNTS
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. Counts has gone from try-out walk-on to a valuable member to the Lions' squad. Counts has a 3.08 GPA and is an Economics major. He had the best game of his career as a Lion in the win over Presbyterian, scoring 10 points with six assists off the bench, hitting 3-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-3 from the three-point line and charity stripe. He earned his first start against Boise State and came through with nine points and five assists, hitting the game winner - a bank three-pointer from 30-feet with 17 seconds left on the game clock and just two seconds on the shot clock. He is averaging 4.3 points with 26 assists this season.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE
UC Riverside returns from a two-game road swing at Minnesota and San Diego State, falling in both games. They are 2-6 on the season, winning both games at home. They defeated Idaho 56-55 in the last seconds and then knocked off Hope International, 85-49. Larry Cunningham, who could become the school's all-time leading scorer in program history, leads the team with 16.4 points per game.

AGAINST THE BIG WEST
The Lions and UC Riverside will meet for just the fifth time. They have split the previous four meetings with UC Riverside pulling a 78-72 at home on Nov. 27, 2004 in the last meeting. This is already the fourth meeting this season for the Lions against the Big West (and last). They have fallen in all three to UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State. They are 115-109 all-time against the Big West.

The Big West:
Cal State Northridge 	11	7	.611	2003
UC Santa Barbara 	48	36	.560	2007
Cal State Fullerton 	11	13	.458	2003
Pacific 	24	23	.510	2006
UC Davis 	0	0	.000	--
Cal Poly 	4	2	.667	2003
UC Irvine 	10	9	.526	2007
UC Riverside 	2	2	.500	2004
Long Beach State 	5	18	.217	2007
Totals	115	109	.514	--

YOUNG GUNS
LMU opened its 2007-08 season featuring a roster with nine underclassmen and seven players without any NCAA Division I experience. The Lions starting line-up for the first two games featured 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 six freshmen. 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 entered the season with 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.

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 added a 14-point game against San DIego State, hitting a career-best three three-pointers and then did one better with a 23-point effort against UCSB. He went for 16 against UCSB and averaged 17.7 points in those three games. He tied for the team lead in three-pointes with 16.
• #4 Max Craig - He has played in nine of the Lions nine games and is averaging 8.9 minutes. H has scored 12 points with 17 rebounds. The native of Canada played in 26 of the Lions' 31 games in his first season of collegiate basketball.
• #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. This season he has played in eight games and is averaging 8.9 minutes. He has scored 22 points with 13 rebounds.

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 for two games. He is averaging 16.1 minutes while playing in every game this season. He has 3.9 points per game and 12 assists. He had his best game as a Lion with 15 points against Mercer.
• #10 Brad Sweezy - A medical redshirt due to a knee injury actually played three minutes last season against Mississippi State. This season he is averaging 8.9 minutes per contest while playing in nine games.
• #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 against UC Irvine. He has started two games this season and is averaging 8.5 minutes per game.
• #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... Undecided as a major and is slated to redshirt the 2007-08 season.
• #22 Brandon Walker - He has played in all 10 games and is averaging 14.7 minutes per game. He went for a career-best 10 points against Long Beach State and is averaging 3.9 points per contest. • #32 Tim Diederichs - One of the Lions starting freshman, leads team with 27.0 minutes per game and is fifth on the team in scoring with 7.5 points per game. He had a career-best 14 points with six rebounds against St. Bonaventure and then added 14 against BSU. He is averaging 4 rebounds per game.
• #33 Orlando Johnson - The second starting freshman, Johnson is averaging 24.3 minutes per game on the season and has become the Lions leading scorer at 11.5 points per game, thanks in large part to his 23 against Presbyterian, 17 against New Mexico and 21 against Mercer. He was named to the All-Tournament team in New Mexico. He had a team-high 20 points in the Lions' exhibition game.