Jan. 22, 2010

Game Notes in Printable PDF Format

Interactive Game Notes:

LMU men's basketball will conclude their final trip out of the state of the California when they take on Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 5:00 p.m. The game will be on FSN Northwest. The game can be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM and on LMULions.com.

INJURIES
The busiest man on the LMU roster has been head trainer Keith Ellison. The injury bug is hitting the Lions once again as conference play heats up. The Lions will feature their ninth different starting line-up against the Zags. Here is why: Ashley Hamilton suffered a miniscus tear in his right knee at the start of the second half of the Portland game and will be out against Gonzaga. Jarred DuBois, who had played every game of his young career, did not play against Portland and is doubtful against Gonzaga due to dehydration. He spent Wednesday in a Portland hospital taking fluids and has yet to regain his strength. Sophomore Drew Viney, the team's leading scorer and rebounder missed the games against USF and Santa Clara due to pain in his right tibia but returned against Portland. Junior Larry Davis missed five games after having surgery on his Achilles Tendon in the off season. He returned to action against Notre Dame but then did not play against CSUB and Pepperdine due to soreness in that tendon but returned in the game against USF. He continues to deal with pain in that foot and is a game-time decision. Freshman Given Kalipinde missed the last six games with an ankle sprain and returned against USF. It all started with freshmen Edgar Garibay and Quincy Lawson, who will miss the rest of the 2009-10 season due to injuries. Garibay will miss the season after tearing his left ACL in the game against UC Santa Barbara. He had started four games and was averaging 7.4 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per contest. Lawson will have surgery to his left hip after injuring it during the opening weekend. Both will apply for medical redshirts following the conclusion of this season.

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 surpassed their win total of the last two seasons combined and are 10-10 overall and 1-3 in the WCC. The Lions' roster is ranked 300 out of 343 NCAA Division-I teams in terms of experience but still managed to have their longest win streak since the 1995-96 season (6 games), the most non-conference wins since that season (9) and won three straight road games for the first time since they won their last road game of 1994-95 and first two road games of the 95-96 campaign. They hadn't won three straight road games in one season since 1991-92. The Lions enter the game against Portland averaging 79.3 points per game, which ranks 31st in the nation (as of Jan. 14) and is the most by a Lions' squad since they averaged 91.1 on the 91-92 team 18 years ago. Two of the Lions' wins this season 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).

SO CLOSE
As mentioned, the 2009-10 season is not one for the faint of heart. The Lions have had 13 of their 20 games decided by less than 10 points and they are 5-8 in those games, 0-2 in WCC play, heading into Saturday's game against Gonzaga. Seven of the Lions' nine setbacks have come by six points or less, and combined are at an average of four points per game. In all seven of those games, the Lions were tied or held a lead with under three minutes to play.

SEEING DOUBLES
The Lions have four players averaging double figures, led by sophomore Drew Viney, who leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per contest and rebounds at 7.0 per contest. The first-year player who transferred from Oregon in 2008, has three double-doubles this season. He is ranked fourth in the WCC in scoring and fifth in rebounds. He missed the games against USF and Santa Clara due to pain in his right tibia and returned with 18 points against Portland. Vernon Teel is second on the team at 13.9. Teel has been the spark plug for the Lions, earning a pair of WCC Player of the Week honors and December Player of the Month honors. He enters the game against Portland ranked fourth in the nation (as of Jan. 14) and first in the WCC (as of Jan. 15) in assists at 6.3 per game. He has been flirting with a triple-doubles this season and also averages 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Sophomore Jarred DuBois has risen his average to 12.7 on the season and leads the Lions with 41 three-pointers while hitting at a 41.8 percent clip. As mentioned, DuBlois missed the Portland game due to dehydration. He enters the Portland game ranked 14th in the WCC in scoring and fifth in three-pointers made with 2.1. Junior Larry Davis returned to the Lions' line-up against USF after missing a pair of games and led the Lions with 16 points. He had also missed six games leading up to the Notre Dame game, and returned with an instant impact. He made 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 fourth on the team with 10.4 points per contest.