Nov. 23, 2010
The LMU men's basketball team has reached the halfway point of their six-game, three-week road swing and will start the final three games, all against the Big West, at Cal Poly on Wednesday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. The Mustangs are 1-2 on the year while the Lions enter the game at 2-3. The game can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and through LMULions.com.
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RESOURCES: GameDay Central Interactive Yearbook/Media Almanac Game Notes in PDF Interactive Game Notes
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions are in the middle of their longest road trip of the season, playing game four of the six-game stretch at Cal Poly on Wednesday. The game against the Mustangs is the first of four straight against the Big West Conference, which will include Long Beach State (Nov. 27), UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 1) and then finally home with round two against Cal Poly (Dec. 4). Junior Drew Viney has showed why he is a Preseason All-WCC pick, by scoring 27 points with six rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals against MEAC favorite and back-to-back NCAA tournament participant Morgan State in the season opener. Coming into game six, he leads the team in scoring at 17.0 and is tied with Vernon Teel and freshman Godwin Okonji with 7.0 rebounds per contest.
AGGRESSOR
Although early, the Lions have been the aggressor, as shown by making more free throws than their opponents attempted while also holding a huge rebounding advantage. The Lions went 21-for-26 (80.0%) from the free throw line against Morgan State and finished the game against La Sierra 32-for-42 (76.7 percent) from the free throw line, the most made and attempted since a 34-of-48 effort on Feb. 11, 2006 against Pepperdine. The Lions are 96-of-127 (75.6%) while their opponents are 58-of-95 (61.1%). They also had a huge edge on the boards in the first five games, holding the best rebound margin in the WCC at +13.4. The Lions outrebound La Sierra 52-26. The 52 team rebounds is the most since 54 against UNLV on Jan. 3, 2001.
BIG START
With an experienced roster returning, the Lions added just three scholarship players to the roster. And through three games, freshmen Anthony Ireland, Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Godwin Okonji, along with redshirt freshman Edgar Garibay, have already made the most of their opportunity. Ireland became the first freshman to hit a three-pointer in his first game on his first attempt as he finished with five points, three rebounds and a steal against Morgan State. He earned his first start against Rider, going for 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and just one turnover in 32 mintues. He is averaging 6.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assist per game. Okonji finished the game against the Bears with seven points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals. He was one rebound shy of the record held by Wyking Jones for rebounds by a freshman in his first game. Okonji did set the record for blocks and tied the record for steals for a freshman in his first game. Okonji followed that performance with a five-point, 10-rebound performance against La Sierra. Through five games he is averaging 5.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. As for Egbeyemi, he went for 10 points, hitting 3-for-5 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe against La Sierra. Egbeyemi is averaging 4.4 points per game. Garibay, after missing all but seven games last year in earning a medical redshirt, returned to action at the start of the Lions six-game road trip and is building up playing time, quickly. In three games, he has averaged 15.7 minutes and 5.0 rebounds.
INJURIES
The past two seasons, injuries have plagued the Lions in non-confernece. In a four-minute span against Rider, they reared their ugly head once again. During the game, the Lions had Drew Viney, Ashley Hamilton, Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi leave due to an injury. Both Viney (calf) and Hamilton (ankle) returned to action and are expected to play Wednesday against Cal Poly. Okonji (shoulder) did not return in the game, and will be a game-time decision for the Mustangs. Egbeyemi (knee) will be out two to four weeks with an MCL strain.
THE MATCH-UP
This will be the first meeting betwee Cal Poly and LMU since Dec. 3, 2003 when the Lions won 68-67 in Gersten Pavilion. It will be the seven meeting all-time and third in San Luis Obispo. The Lions hold a 4-2 overall edge with both loses coming on the road. Cal Poly won in overtime 72-80 in 2002 and 87-70 in 1997. The teams will meet twice in two weeks, playing again on Dec. 7 at Gerten Pavilion. Cal Poly comes into the game Wednesday at 1-2 on the season, dropping their last two - Nov. 18 vs. CS Monterey Bay, 50-47, and Nov. 21 at Montana State, 73-57. They won their opener on the road at Seattle, 76-60, on Nov. 14. David Hanson leads the Mustangs in scoring at 18.3 points per game while adding 6.3 rebounds. Will Donahue averages a double-double, going for 13 ppg and 10 rpg. Like the Lions, Cal Poly has enjoyed success on the boards, holding a +6.7 rebound margin. The Lions lead the West Coast Conference at +13.4. Cal Poly's big three of Hanson, Donahue and Shawn Lewis (14.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) average 76 percent of the team's scoring and 59 percent of the team's rebounds. Cal Poly is coached by Joe Callero, who is in his second season with the Mustangs after spending nine seasons at Seattle. He helped Seattle start the transition to Division I play and in the 2008-09 season, his team defeated the injury depleted Lions (who had just seven players for the game) 49-39.
- GO LIONS -
