Feb. 24, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

Interactive Game Notes with Audio:

Winners in five of their last seven, including wins over a pair of the top teams in the West Coast Conference last weekend, LMU men's basketball hopes to stay hot as they remain in the hunt for a first round bye in the upcoming Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships. The Lions remain a game behind San Francisco for fourth in the WCC as they head to San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 25 to start a crucial two-game road swing to end the regular season. The game will tip-off at 7:30 p.m., and will be live on ESPNU and on KXLU 88.9 FM.

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions, who do not feature a senior on the roster and are starting a freshman, three sophomores and a junior, and have a roster that is ranked 300 out of 343 NCAA Division-I teams in terms of experience, continue to reach milestones as the season reaches its final weeks as they enter the game against San Diego at 15-13 overall and 6-6 in WCC play. Here is what they have done:
• The most wins (15) since going 15-14 in 2003.
• Second best turn-around in school history with 12 more wins than a year ago.
• Triple number of WCC wins (6) than a year ago.
• Longest win streak since the 1995-96 season (6 games).
• The most non-conference wins since that season (9).
• Defeated their first ranked opponent (#9 Gonzaga) since 1990, and first ranked-win at Gersten Pavilion.
• Defeated a top-10 team for the second time in school history (the last being in 1960).
• Posted a three-game road winning streak (at Notre Dame, at Sac. State, at CSUB) 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.
• Finished with a 9-5 record at home, the most since earning 9 wins in 1998-99 and 1994-95.

SEEING DOUBLES
The Lions enter the final stretch of conference play with five players averaging double figures, led by sophomore Drew Viney, who leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points per contest and rebounds at 7.1 per contest. The first-year player who transferred from Oregon in 2008, has four double-doubles this season, including his 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Gonzaga win. He is ranked fifth in the WCC in scoring and fifth in rebounds. Vernon Teel is second on the team at 15.0 points per game, and moved into 7th within the WCC in scoring after earning his fifth double-double of the season in the overtime win over Portland, going for 24 points and 11 rebounds. 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 Gonzaga ranked 9th in the nation (as of Feb. 18) and first in the WCC in assists at 6.04 per game and first in the WCC in steals at 1.9 per game. Sophomore Jarred DuBois has scored double digits in 15 straight games he has played, putting in 12.7 on the season and is second for the Lions with 48 three-pointers, hitting at a 40.3 percent clip. He enters the San Diego game ranked 14th in the WCC in scoring and tied for 6th in three-pointers made with 2.1. Sophomore Kevin Young has vaulted his average over two points the past month and he is now averaging 10.9 points (21st in WCC) and 5.4 rebounds (t-14th) per game. Junior Larry Davis made his return to the line-up on the weekend, and is fifth on the team with 10.5 points per contest.

OFFENSE FROM DEFENSE
In winning five of their last seven, the Lions have used defense to power their offense. In defeating two of the top three teams in the WCC last weekend, they flustered high-powered offenses. Gonzaga entered the game averaging 78.6 points, 49.5 percent shooting from the field, 13.4 turnovers and a +.20 turnover margin. LMU held them to 66 points, 34.4 percent shooting (second lowest on the season), and went +1 in turnover margin. Portland entered the game averaging 73.1 points, 47.3 percent shooting from the field, 13.0 turnovers per game and a +.44 turnover margin. The Lions held them to 68 points, 36.7 percent shooting (second lowest on the season), forced them into 21 turnovers (second most on the season) and went +5.0 in turnover margin. Here is a look at LMU's defense:
• Record of 11-2 and 5-1 in the WCC when they outscore opponents in points of turnovers.
• Record of 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the WCC when holding opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
• Record of 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the WCC when holding opponents under 70 points. • In the second half of WCC play, LMU has outscored Portland 25-17, Pepperdine 20-2, Santa Clara 20-10, and USF 19-6 in points off turnovers.
• Leads the league in steals with a 7.5 average, grabbing 215, including 13 against Portland.
• Second in the WCC in blocks with 4.3 per game, blocking 119 after just 55 a year ago.
• Moved to first in the WCC in turnover margin at +0.39

TURNAROUND
Second-year Head Coach Max Good has helped lead the Lions on a resurgence this season. The Lions have 12 more wins than last season, making it the second best turnaround in school history. The Lions enter the game against San Diego with 15 wins, including victories at Notre Dame, at USC, Gonzaga, Long Beach State and a surprisingly tough Seattle squad who features a projected NBA lottery pick. The best turnaround came in 1987-88, the first year Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble were eligible after transferring from USC. Paul Westhead and the Lions went 28-4 and 14-0 to win the WCC that season. It was a 16-win turnaround from the 12-16 season the year prior. The Lions also had 11 game turnarounds in 1937-38 (18-7 after 7-9 year prior) and 1959-60 (19-8 after 8-15 year prior).