Dec. 9, 2010

"Bootcamp" defense has been the theme halfway through LMU's current four-game homestand, and the Lions will face hot-shooting South Dakota in game three of the home stretch at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. The Lions (5-5) have posted their first win streak of the season by allowing just 48.5 points in the last two games and will take on a Coyotes (3-6) team that has four players with more than 10 three-pointers on the season and shoot 37 percent from long range. The game can be seen on Lions' All-Access through LMULions.com and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.

LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA
• TV: None
• RADIO: KXLU 88.9 FM
• WEBCAST: Lions' All-Access
• LIVESTATS:
• RESOURCES: All-Access Preview • GameDay Central • Interactive Yearbook/Media Almanac • Game Notes in PDF • Interactive Game Notes

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions enter Saturday with a 5-5 record, winning two straight and three of their last four. The Lions are in the middle of their longest homestand of the season, defeating Cal Poly 67-48 on Dec. 4 and Sacramento State, 69-49, Dec. 7. The Lions have done it on defense. Getting back to what Head Coach Max Good said was "bootcamp defense" in practice, the Lions have kept opponents under 50 points in back-to-back games for the first time since LMU won its first conference championship in 1960-61. In that season, LMU held San Diego State and San Diego to 47 and 44 points, respectively on Feb. 21 and Feb. 24, 1961. LMU is allowing just 65.2 points per game on the season, ranking second in the WCC. Fueling that defense, the Lions are allowing opponents to shoot just 41.2 percent on the season while posting a rebounding margin of +10.3, ranking second and first in the WCC respectively. LMU is also ranked first in the conference in blocks (4.9 bpg) and steals (8.00 spg).

MORE DEFENSE
LMU held Sacramento State to just 49 points thanks in large part to forcing the Hornets to shoot just 29.1 percent from the field, a season low for the Lions' defense. It is the lowest percentage since holding Pacific to 25.0 percent (18-for-72) on Dec. 12, 1998 in a 71-62 win at Gersten Pavilion. Against the Hornets, the Lions also finished with 11 blocks, the most since they had 11 at UC Riverside on Nov. 27, 2004. Freshman Godwin Okonji had six of them, the most since Sherman Gay had six on Jan. 17, 2003, and one shy of Silvester Kainga's school record of seven on Dec. 2, 1998 against Cal State Fullerton. With all that defense on Tuesday, the Lions also went on to have 21 assists on 23 field goals, a season-high. Senior Vernon Teel and freshman Anthony Ireland each had six assists in the game.

REVERSAL
In the Lions first game of their current homestand, a 67-48 win over Cal Poly on Dec. 4, the Lions' defense posted a season-low 48 points, holding Cal Poly to 36.2 percent from the field on just 47 shots. Helping propel their offense was also a season-low six turnovers. The lack of turnovers helped make the most of their opportunities. In their first meeting against Cal Poly, the Lions scored 48 points on 50 attempts while turning the ball over 16 times. In the second meeting, they scored 67 points on 50 attempts.

MAKING THE MOST OF IT
With the injuries, the Lions had to change their starting line-up for the fifth time only eight games into the season against UCSB, and with it came fifth-year senior Larry Davis' chance to start for the first time since Jan. 16, 2010. And he made the most of it. He equalled a career-high with 27 points in 37 minutes at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 1, hitting 8-for-13 from the field and 6-for-7 from the three-point line. It is the most three-pointers made in a single game since Jarred DuBois went 6-for-10 from long range as a freshman against Santa Clara on Feb. 14, 2009. He went on to add 13 points and seven rebounds in the win over Sacramento State and he is now averaging 8.0 points per contest, hitting 11-for-27 from long range with 10 steals. He is ranked 13th in the WCC in three-point percentage.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
The Lions had three players with double-doubles in the win over Long Beach State on Saturday. In addition to Drew Viney, Vernon Teel had his eighth career double-double with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Ashley Hamilton had his second double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Taking a quick look back, it is the first time since the record-setting game of Jan. 5, 1991, the Lions have had that many players with a double-double. In that game, LMU and US International set the NCAA Division I record for points as LMU won 186-140. Richard Petruska had 28 points and 13 rebounds, Terrell Lowery and 34 points and 16 assists, and Greg Walker had 10 points and 10 assists. A year prior, the Lions had four player with a double-double in a 145-102 win over Nevada on Nov. 25, 1989. Per Stumer had 10 points, 10 boards, Bo Kimble went for 31 and 10, Hank Gathers had 28 and 17, while Lowery had 10 points and 10 assists. As for Teel, he is now ranked 19th all-time with his career double-doubles, tied with Greg Hunter and one behind Johnny Brown, Corey Gaines and Keith Smith.

ON THE BOARDS
In 2009-10, the Lions had a rebound margin of -0.6 and out-rebounded opponents in just 13 of the 34 games. Although early, that trend has reversed in a big way. The Lions have not been outrebounded this season, going for double-digit rebound margin in all but four of those games, incluing a +16 margin in the win over Cal Poly on Saturday. This season also includes a 52-26 rebounding edge against La Sierra, the most team rebounds since 54 against UNLV on Jan. 3, 2001. The Lions are the best in the WCC, which is showing to be a reboudning league early this season. The Lions are +10.3 heading into game No. 11 as seven of the eight teams in the WCC have a positive rebound margin. Drew Viney leads the Lions with 7.5 rebounds per game while Vernon Teel is second at 6.7 and freshman Godwin Okonji is third at 6.0.

INJURIES
The past two seasons, injuries have plagued the Lions in non-confernece and they have reared their ugly head once again. One of those injuries from last season, the ACL of Edgar Garibay, has carried over to this season as he missed the last two games due to soreness in his knee. He is doubtful for the week. Ayodeji Egbeyemi injured his ankle against Rider and was sidelined two to four weeks. He is in week two and began workouts this week, and returned to play 11 minutes against Sacramento State. In that Rider game, Drew Viney suffered a deep bruise to his calf, and despite playing against Cal Poly and Long Beach State, he did not play against UCSB and game two against the Mustangs. He returned against Sacramento State to lead the team with 15 points in 30 minutes off the bench. Junior Jarred DuBois has suffered through an injury to his right foot since the start of the 2009-10 season, and it has been compounded by ankle injuries throughout his career. The injury has returned and he first missed the game against Long Beach State and is out indefinately.

GAME #11
The Lions finally return home last week and continues a four-game homestand. Game #11 of the 2010-11 season will feature a full slate of activities and the game will be broadcast on Lions' All-Access and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM. A full slate of GameDay activities are slated, including the Hannon Pregame Tailgate Party, which begins at 5 p.m. During the game, the Lions will honor the 2010 LMU Men's Soccer Team, who won their first West Coast Conference championship, earning co-honors with Santa clara. For more, visit LMULions.com/tickets/gameday.