Jan. 6, 2010
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - December 2009 was one of the best months of play for LMU men's basketball in the decade, and leading the way was junior guard Vernon Teel. He helped guide the Lions to a 6-2 mark on the month and because of it he has been named West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Month for December.
The Lions ended the month with five straight wins, including a road win at Notre Dame and an overtime win over Long Beach State. On the month, Teel averaged 16.6 points, 61. Rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.88 steals per game. He finished hitting 53.4 percent from the field in the eight games and posted an assist/turnover ratio of 1.96 (51 assists to just 26 turnovers.
LMU earned an 87-85 win at Notre Dame on Dec. 12 and it started the five straight victories to close the month, the year and the decade. And the game was a signature performance for Teel, who is having his best season. He earned his second career double-double in the win over the Fighting Irish, going for 24 points and 11 rebounds. It was the Fighting Irish's first non-conference home loss since 2005, the Lions first win over a current member of the Big East since 1988 and started a current three-game road winning streak, the longest in 15 years.
In the overtime win against Long Beach State, Teel hit the game winner and finished with 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists with just two turnovers in 41 minutes. He followed that with a pair of near triple-doubles to end the month.
On the road against Sacramento State, Teel went for 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Lions earned an 82-78 win on Dec. 27. Then on Dec. 30 to close the month, Teel went for 24 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in a 104-89 win over Seattle. It was the Lions first 100-point game since 1998.
On the season, He ranks seventh in the WCC in scoring, 11th in rebounds, 10th in field goal percentage (49.1), tops in the WCC and 4th nationally in assists, third in steals (1.8), tied for 14th in blocks (0.6) and fourth in assist/turnover ratio (1.9). He has a pair of double-doubles on the year and is tops in the WCC in minutes played at 34.2.
Teel shared the monthly honor with Omar Samhan of Saint Mary's.
The Lions will begin WCC action on Saturday when they travel to Pepperdine on Saturday, Jan. 9 for a 7 pm tipoff.
