Oct. 26, 2010

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The LMU men's basketball program earned 42 points and a first place vote in the 2010-11 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and are picked to finish second, as voted by the league's eight coaches. In addition, LMU's two first-team All-Conference selections from a year ago have been picked to be there again.

With 13 returning letterwinners, among them four starters returning, the Lions were picked to finish behind Gonzaga, who earned 48 points and six first place votes. Saint Mary's was picked to finish third with 39 points, and also earned a first place vote.

In addition, the annual Preseason All-Conference Team was announced, and senior Vernon Teel and junior Drew Viney have both made the cut. Teel was a First-Team All-WCC selection a year ago after averaging 15.4 points 5.6 assists and 5.3 rebounds, while Viney was also a first-team pick after putting up 16.7 points and 7.0 boards in his first season at LMU.

The duo lead the Lions into the 2010-11 season with high expectations. LMU finished 18-16 last season and tied for fourth in the WCC at 7-7. They went on to earn a pair of wins at the WCC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals. It was a 15-win turnaround from the year before and helped the program advanced to postseason play for the first time since the 1989-90 Lions went to the Elite Eight.

Santa Clara rounded out the top-half of the conference with 28 points. The rest of the league was picked to finish with Portland in fifth, followed by San Francisco, Pepperdine and San Diego.

The 2010-11 season begins with an exhibition on Nov. 6 against Chapman at 7 p.m., followed by the regular season opener against Morgan State at 7 p.m. Both games are set for Gersten Pavilion and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and seen on Lions' All-Access through LMULions.com.

2010-11 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Votes) - Points
1. Gonzaga (6) - 48
2. LMU (1) - 42
3. Saint Mary's (1) - 39
4. Santa Clara - 28
5. Portland - 25
6. San Francisco - 18
7. Pepperdine - 14
8. San Diego - 10

2010-11 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Keion Bell, G, 6-3, Jr., Pepperdine University
Matthew Dellavedova, G, 6-4, So., Saint Mary's College
Kevin Foster, G, 6-2, So., Santa Clara University
Steven Gray, G, 6-5, Sr., Gonzaga University
Elias Harris, F, 6-7, So., Gonzaga University
Mickey McConnell, G, 6-0, Sr., Saint Mary's College
Jared Stohl, G, 6-2, Sr., University of Portland
Vernon Teel, G, 6-4, Sr., Loyola Marymount University
Marc Trasolini, F, 6-9, Jr., Santa Clara University
Drew Viney, F, 6-8, Jr., Loyola Marymount University