Feb. 25, 2007
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Loyola Marymount and Saint Mary's will play the final game of the regular season in the West Coast Conference on Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 when the two square off in an 8 p.m. tip-off on ESPNU. It is the last of four games to start on Monday, the final day of play in the WCC. There is still positioning at stake for both LMU and Saint Mary's The Lions (13-16, 5-8) can finish as high as fifth and as low as sixth while Saint Mary's (15-14, 7-6) can finish as high as third or as low as fourth. The top four seeds earn first round byes in the upcoming WCC Basketball Championships in Portland, Ore., on March 2. The Lions will play in the first round and they will find out if their first round opponent will be Portland or Pepperdine (for bracket scenarios, see back page).
GERSTEN FINALE
This will be the final home game for five LMU seniors, four of them in their fifth year of college basketball. Brandon Worthy, Matthew Knight, Derick Grubb, Adoyah Miller and John Montgomery will play their final game at Gersten Pavilion against Saint Mary's on Monday. As a group they have combined to play 426 games heading into the game against Saint Mary's. Entering the final regular season game, Knight has scored 1,444 points with 731 rebounds in 102 games, Worthy has 1,255 points in 93 games, Grubb has 414 in 112 games, Miller with 400 points in 39 games and Montgomery has 273 points in 87 games. For Miller and Montgomery, their seniors seasons have been break-out campaigns in their careers. Miller has scored 344 of his 400 points (86 percent) with 67 three-poitners this season while Montgomery has scored 153 of his 273 points (56 percent) in 2006-07.
AT HOME
The Lions improved to 8-4 at home with the 67-66 win over Santa Clara on Monday, with the 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 15-9 at Gersten under Head Coach Rodney Tention. Heading into the finale against Saint Mary's, the Lions are averaging 2,459 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 will go over 30,000 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 191-155 all-time in Gersten.
ONE OF THE BEST
Senior Matthew Knight is nearing an end to a career that might finish as one of the 10 best in LMU history. With 17 points and nine rebounds against Santa Clara on Saturday, he moved his career totals to 1,444 points and 731 rebounds. He replaced Ed Bento (1959-62) for 10th all-time in scoring and Forrest McKenzie (1981-86) for 6th all-time in rebounds. He would need 137 points to replace Luther Philyaw (1972-76) for ninth in scoring and 21 boards to replaced Tom Ryan (1958-61) for fifth in rebounds. Knight is just one of five players in LMU history to rank in the top-15 in both scoring and rebounds. He joins Jim Haderlein (1968-71), Hank Gathers (1987-90), Forrest McKenzie (1981-86), Mike Yoest (1984-88).
DEFENSE
The key in the Lions' 13 wins this season has be on the defensive end. By scoring 27 points off 18 San Diego turnovers, the Lions improved to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in league play when scoring more points off turnovers than their opponents. The Lions put up the second most steals on the season with 13, forcing San Diego into 18 turnovers in the process. The Lions scored 27 points off turnovers while holding the Toreros to just 36 percent shooting, 28 percent in the second half, the lowest by any opponent this season. Down by nine with 14:03 to play, LMU held the Toreros to just three field goals the rest of the game for the six point win (see more on LMU's defense on page 5).
LOST IN TRANSITION
It has been a season of change for the LMU this season, thanks in large part to injuries. The Lions started the season 5-1, playing with the same starting rotation for the first seven games of the season. Since then, the Lions' line-up has been anything but stable. LMU has changed their line-up 12 times since then, featuring nine different players and 11 different combinations. Included in the change was the loss of preseason All-American candidate Brandon Worthy for the year with a torn ACL. They went 1-6 in the first half of the WCC in the process. In the first meeting against Santa Clara, the Lions featured their 10th different line-up of the season as Damian Martin and Matthew Knight were the only two in the line-up who started the first game of the season. John Montgomery, Adoyah Miller and Marko Deric joined them and the new line-up went five straight games together, posting a 4-1 mark in the process with two of the wins against the top two teams in the WCC. The line-up was forced to change due to the injury Knight suffered against USD, as he did not start in the setbacks to Pepperdine and USF. That group returned and improved to 5-1 with the win over Santa Clara on Saturday.
SENIOR FAREWELL:
A KNIGHT'S TALE
The four-year career of senior Matthew Knight has been defined by the double-double. The Australian native earned his 25th double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Santa Clara on Jan. 27. Overall, he had two as a sophomore in 2004-05, then broke out for 17 in 2005-06. He has six this season for 25 total, replacing Ime Oduok for fifth all-time in LMU history. His 17 last year was the most since Hank Gathers had 26 in the 1988-89 season and ranks him seventh all-time for single season double-doubles. He didn't get the double-double against Boise State with nine rebounds but equaled a career-best with 32 points. Knight is currently second in the WCC in scoring at 16.9 points per game and second in rebounds at 7.8.
SENIOR FAREWELL:
Miller's Time
The senior campaign for Adoyah Miller finally showed the potential he has always had. Miller has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week twice this season, signifying the turn-around season he has had in 2006-07. He had appeared in just 10 games in his first two seasons at LMU due to injuries. He had scored 56 points with seven three-pointers in his first two campaigns. This season he has 344 points and 67 three pointers, the third most in a decade at LMU. He needs just one more three-pointer to crack into the top-10 all-time for three-pointers in a season. In WCC play, he has gone double figures in 11 of the 13 games, going for just nine on Saturday against Santa Clara. However, it was a valuable nine as his 19-footer with five seconds to play was the game winner. His last WCC Player of the Week honor was for his play against Portland and Gonzaga on Feb. 3 and Feb. 5. Against Portland, he went 6-for-11 from the floor, hitting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc to net 17 points. He added a rebound, three assists in the win. In the big win Monday, he went 3-for-7 from the field, all three coming from the three-point line on four attempts. However, it was charity work that got the Lions the win. He went 12-for-14 from the free throw line (86 percent). Miller earned his first Player of the Week honor on Dec. 26 for his performance against Boise State and Long Beach State. In league games, Miller leads the WCC with 2.7 three-pointers per game, ranking fifth with 2.31 in all games played. Overall he is ranked 15th in scoring at 11.9 points per game, coming in at 7th in WCC games at 14.5 points per game.
SENIOR FAREWELL:
GRAND FINALE
Fifth-year senior John Montgomery set a career-high in points in back-to-back games, going for 11 against Portland and then hitting 12 in the win over Gonzaga. He shattered that two games later with 20 points against Pepperdine on Feb. 17. Against USD he went for another 10 and then added 12 against Santa Clara, giving him five out of the last six games in double digits. Since being moved to the starting line-up permently eight games ago, Montgomery has responded. He has averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds in 28 minutes per contest. He is shooting 51.9 percent (27-for-52) from the field and 52.0 percent (13-for-25) from the three-point line. He has also hit 20-for-23 from the charity stripe (87.0 percent), hitting 11-for-12 in the final minute of games. His stretch run of his career has been his best, setting career marks in points, assists, rebounds, free throws, three pointers and field goals.
BECOMING A LEADER
Damian Martin (6-2, 200, Jr., NSW, Australia), the fourth-year player from Australia who was forced to serve a medical redshirt season in 2005-06 due to a torn Achilles tendon suffered while playing the Australian National Team, returned this season and with the loss of Brandon Worthy has been asked to take much of the load. As conference play continues, Martin has answered the call. He has become possibly the best defender in the WCC, entering Monday's game with 61 steals, ranking in a four-way tie for sixth LMU history. He has moved into the career top-10, as his three against Santa Clara moved him to 154 in his career, one shy of tying Tom Peabody (1989-91) for sixth. Overall he averages 5.0 rebounds per game (ranked 11th in the WCC), 3.34 assists (8th in WCC) and 2.10 Steals (2nd in WCC). In WCC games, he is first in steals (2.46). Martin posted a career-high in points in back-to-back nights, going for 16 on 7-for-12 shooting against USF and then went for 18 on 8-for-11 shooting against USD. On the week, he averaged 17.5 points 9.5 rebounds (including a career best 14 against USF), 5.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks. He went for six points, six rebounds, two blocks and four steals against Pepperdine and then went for eight points, eight assists, four steals and no turnovers against Santa Clara. The increasing numbers continues a trend in his first full season in two years. He went for 11 assists, the most in 10 years, against New Mexico State. He followed that with an impressive 10 rebounds, a school-record nine steals, and six assists in the win over Boise State.
RECENT NOTES
For the first time on the season the Lions had four players in double digits in the win over Portland, led by junior Jon Ziri, who came off the bench with 17 points to tie a career high, going 10-for-12 from the free throw line in the 74-59 win over Portland. Senior Adoyah Miller added 17, senior John Montgomery added a career-best 11 and senior Matthew Knight chipped in 13 points and six rebounds. The Lions had their best half of the season to open the game, shooting 64 percent to build a lead as big as 20. They bettered that effort with four players in double digits against Pepperdine, shooting 66.7 percent in the second half against the Waves.
Free throws were a big part of the Lions' wins the last week. In the second half against Portland, Jon Ziri entered the game hitting 54.6 percent from the charity stripe on the season (22-for-39) and 46.4 percent in his career. While his teammates struggled, going a combined 6-for-19 (31.6 percent), Ziri raised his season average over eight percent in the win by going 10-for-12. Ziri would score 10 of the Lions remaining 13 points, all from the charity stripe, to clinch it in the final five minutes. In the win over Gonzaga, John Montgomery and Adoyah Miller combined to go 6-for-6 in the final 23 seconds to clinch the win. Miller went 12-for-14 in the win over Gonzaga. Against San Diego, the Lions went just 10-for-15 as a team but Montgomery burried both free throws with 11.8 to play to turn the game to a two posession contest.
The win over Santa Clara on Jan. 27 saw the Lions shoot 60.9 percent from the field, hitting 28-for-46 on the game, including a 13-for-19 clip (68.4 percent) in the second half. It was the best shooting percentage in eight years, dating back to a win over Saint Mary's on Jan. 29, 1999 when the Lions hit 63.8 percent shooting.
The Lions went to the offensive glass early and often against USF and USD in the first meetings. They had 19 offensive boards to out-rebound USF 44-34 on Saturday and then did one better with 22 offensive boards to out-rebound USD 41-31. The 22 offensive rebounds is the most since the Lions had 22 against Long Beach State on Nov. 30, 2005. In 2005-06 they went for 20 or more offensive boards three times and finished with single digit offensive boards just four times in 30 games. This season they have been in double digits in 17 of the 20 games while averaging 16.5 offensive boards in WCC play.
The Lions finished the game against UC Irvine with just six turnovers. According to LMU records it equals the lowest in program history since it joined the WCC in 1955. The six turnovers is the lowest since the Lions had six against Santa Clara in January of 2003. The Lions also committed just six on Jan. 16, 1993 against Gonzaga.
The Lions became just the third West Coast Conference school to reach the finals of the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout (Portland and Gonzaga). They defeated host Alaska-Anchorage 69-58 in the quarterfinals and then took care of Pacific in a thrilling double overtime come-from-behind win, 88-85. LMU fell to Cal in the finals, 78-70. Seniors Bradon Worthy and Matthew Knight were both named to the All-Tournament team.
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.
DEFENSE
The key in the Lions 13 wins this season has be on the defensive end. By scoring 27 points off 18 San Diego turnovers, the Lions improved to 11-3 overall and 4-1 in league play when scoring more points off turnovers than their opponents. Here is how defense has given the Lions the win this season.
LMU held Oral Roberts, one the nation's top scoring teams to just 65.
They then held Mississippi St., who had over 90 in their first game, to just 61.
LMU held New Mexico State to just 38 percent shooting, 28 in the second
half. LMU forced the Aggies into 26 turnovers.
Against Cal State Bakersfield, they held them to 41 percent for the game,
just 35 percent in the first half.
The Lions held Alaska to just 42 percent shooting, 38 percent in the second
half as the Lions took a two-point halftime lead and turned it into a double-
digit win.
In the win over Pacific, the Lions held the Tigers to just 36.8 percent in the
second half and forced them into a season-high 28 turnovers to lead the
comeback.
Against UCSB, the Lions held them to 34.8 percent shooting for the game
and just 55 points.
In the win over UC Irvine, they forced them into 16 turnovers on eight steals.
The Lions finished the game scoring 23 points off turnovers.
Against Boise State the Lions held the Broncos to just 24 percent shooting
from the three-point line and forced 23 turnovers on 14 steals, nine coming
from Damian Martin.
In the win over SCU, they scored 26 points on 18 Santa Clara turnovers.
And against Portland they held them to just eight field goals in the first half
and scored 22 points on 18 turnovers.
Held Gonzaga, the WCC's top scoring team at more than 80 points per game
on 50 percent shooting, to just 61 points on 44 percent from the field.
Put up the second most steals on the season with 13, forcing San Diego into
18 turnovers in the process. The Lions scored 27 points off turnovers while
holding the Toreros to just 36 percent shooting, 28 percent in the second
half, the lowest by any opponent this season.
The Lions held Santa Clara to just two points, both coming on free throws,
the final 3:25 to overcome a five-point deficit.
SENIOR FAREWELL:
UNWORTHY ENDING
Loyola Marymount University men's basketball fifth-year senior Brandon Worthy will miss the remainder of the 2006-07 season after results from an MRI released Friday, Dec. 22, showed a torn ACL in his left knee. Worthy injured the knee in the final moments of the Lions' double overtime win against Boise State on Tuesday. He finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Entering the Lions first game without the San Jose native, Worthy ranked second in the West Coast Conference in scoring at 18.8 points per game. The preseason CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-American also ranked 17th in the WCC in rebounds (4.5 rpg), seventh in free throw percentage (77.2%), ninth in assists (3.69 apg), seventh in steals (1.77 spg), ninth in three-point percentage (38.8%), 10th in three-pointers made per game (1.46), and 11th in defensive rebounds (3.54). Worthy's playing career at LMU concludes with 1,255 points, ranking 17th all-time in LMU history. Worthy is also ranked fourth all-time in free thorws made with 437, eighth in assists with 320 and seventh in steals with 157.
SENIOR FAREWELL:
ONE TIME
Senior Derick Grubb made use of a short-lived rule that allowed fifth year seniors transfer without a year penalty if they had earned their degree. Grubb made his way from Pepperdine and put up his best numbers in collegiate basketball. He enters Monday's game with a career best in scoring with 144 points, 5.1 per game. His 27 games equals his career-high from last year. He also has more rebounds (119), more free throws made (22) and attempted (29), a better free throw percentage (75.9), and more field goals made (57) and attempted (151). He has played in 112 career games entering Monday.
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 609 games the Lions have played since the three-point line was instituted, the Lions have hit three-pointers in 608 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 337 straight games heading into the game against Gonzaga.
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 24-34 in one-plus season 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.
NEW LIONS
Loyola Marymount men's basketball announced that high school seniors Orlando Johnson (F/G, 6-5, 205, Palma High School), Brandon Walker (G, 6-3, 190, Bishop O'Dowd), and Tim Diederichs (F, 6-9, 225, Snohomish HS) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend and play basketball for LMU starting the 2007 fall semester. Johnson attended North Salinas High School for his for his first two years before transferring to Palma High School last year. In his first season he led Palma to a second place finish in the league at 8-3, going 21-6 overall. He averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds as a junior, earning first team all-league honors. As for Walker, a native of Hayward, Calif., he helped Bishop O'Dowd reach the Division-III playoffs at 19-9 overall and 11-5 in league play. Scored 25 points in the quarterfinal win over Miramonte. He went on to earn all-conference and All-CIF honors while averaging 19 points and eight rebounds per game. Diederichs is a versatile 6-foot-9 forward/post who averaged about 16 points and nine rebounds per game for Snohomish last season. He used his size and versatility to score from all over the court for Snohomish, helping the Panthers advance to the Class 4A state tournament and compile a 21-5 record.
- GO LIONS -
