Dec. 29, 2009

Game Notes in Printable PDF Format

Interactive Game Notes with Audio:

Non-conference play for the 2009 calendar year at Gersten Pavilion will come to a close for the LMU men's basketball team when they host Seattle University on Wednesday, Dec. 30 as part of a Holiday Doubleheader with the women. The action starts with the women at 5:00 p.m., followed by the men at 7:30 p.m. Its the final home non-conference game of the season for the men, and on paper it could be a good one. Both teams are in the top-50 nationally in scoring, as the Lions (7-7) look to extend their four-game winning streak against a Seattle (6-7) squad that has one of top players in the nation and has posted a road win at Utah and a home win over Fresno State.

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions, who do not feature a senior on the roster and who are starting three sophomores, a freshman and a junior, already have four more wins than they did in the injury plagued 2008-09 season and are 7-7 after an 82-78 win over Sacramento State Sunday afternoon. The Lions have their longest win streak since November 2006 and have won back-to-back road games for the first time since that streak three seasons ago. Two of the Lions wins have come on the road against teams from the "Power 6" conferences (Nov. 21 at USC, 67-59; Dec. 12 at Notre Dame, 87-85) and they already have as many road wins (3) this season as they had wins overall a year ago. In addition, five of the Lions' seven setbacks have come by six points or less, and combined are at an average of just over four points. In all five of those games, the Lions were tied or held a lead with under three minutes to play. LMU entered the week (Dec. 28) of play ranked first in the WCC in blocked shots (4.6 bpg), steals (7.9 spg), turnover margin (+0.5) and offensive rebounds (13.4 pg), while ranking second in scoring offense (78.5), assists (15.0 apg), assist/turnover ratio (1.1), and offensive rebound percentage (37.5). They are third in field goal percentage (46.6) and three-point field goal percentage (38.2).

FIVE DOUBLES
The Lions have five players averaging double figures, led by sophomore Drew Viney, who leads the team in scoring at 16.9 points per contest and rebounds at 7.4 per contest. The first-year player who transferred from Oregon in 2008, has three double-doubles this season, including 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in the overtime win against the 49ers and 13 points, 12 rebounds against Sacramento St. He entered the week (Dec. 28) ranked fourth in the WCC in scoring, third in rebounds, seventh in free throw percentage (83.1), seventh three-point percentage (41.4), sixth in three-pointers made (2.1), and fourth in blocked shots (1.2). Vernon Teel is second on the team at 13.8. Teel has been the spark plug for the Lions, ranking 23rd in the nation (as of Dec. 20) and first in the WCC (as of Dec. 28) in assists (6.1). He also entered the week ranked 9th in the WCC in scoring, 13th in rebounds (5.7), seventh in steals (1.5), and fourth in minutes played at 33.5 per game. Junior Larry Davis made his first appearance in six games against Notre Dame, and made an instant impact with the assist on the game winner against Notre Dame and the three-pointer with 15 seconds left to send the LBSU game to overtime. He is third on the team with 11.8 points and the Lions are 4-0 since he returned to action. Sophomore Jarred DuBois cracked into the double-digits thanks to his 24 points against CSUB, and is now averaging 11.6 points per game after posting another 24-point game against Sacramento St. He entered the week ranked 18th in the WCC in scoring, tied with teammate Vernon Teel for 7th in steals (1.5), 12th in assists (2.4), 11th in three-point percentage (39.0) and third in three-pointers per game (2.3). Sophomore Kevin Young had his fifth double-double of his career with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Wyoming and is now averaging 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 61.2 percent from the field (63-for-103), which is second in the WCC (as of Dec. 28).

2009-10 QUICK HITTERS
• The Lions scored 87 and 83 points in their first two games, respectively, going for more than 80 points in consecutive games since the 2005-06 season, and setting the tone for the non-conference season. They put up their eighth 80-plus game on the season against SSU, three more than the total of the previous three seasons combined. The Lions are averaging 22.8 more points than a year ago, putting in 78.5 points per game this season after averaging just 55.7 a year ago. The Lions are second in the WCC in scoring (as of Dec. 28) and 59th out of 334 schools nationally (Dec. 20). The Lions had just one game of 70 or more points a year ago, after 14 games this season they have 11.
• The Lions entered the season without a road win since 2007. They sleighed that dragon in a big way, breaking that streak with a 65-57 win at USC and then an even bigger statement with an 87-85 win at Notre Dame. With the win at Sacramento State, the Lions have posted back-to-back road wins for the first time since November of 2006. It was the Lions' first win on the USC campus since the first game of the 1976-77 season, a span of 33 years. It is also the first overall road win since Dec. 8, 2007 against Boise State, snapping a streak of 24 games. It was also the first win against a Pac-10 team since the Lions beat the Trojans on Dec. 4, 1995, 86-83, at Gersten Pavilion. The win against Notre Dame was the first over a current member of the Big East since 1988 when the Lions beat Marquette, 102-98 on Jan. 6, 1988. It also snapped Notre Dame's home non-conference winning streak at 42 games, giving them their first setback since Dec. 3, 2005.