Feb. 26, 2010

Game Notes in Printable PDF Format

Interactive Game Notes with Audio:

As the only road team to earn a victory on Thursday, the LMU men's basketball team has put themselves in a postion for a first round bye in the upcoming West Coast Conference championships next weekend when they travel for the final game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Saint Mary's. With a win over the Gaels, who have already locked up the second seed a pass all the way to the semifinals, and a Gonzaga win over San Francisco, the Lions will earn that fourth seed. The Lions game in Moraga will tip-off at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet California and then re-broadcast on FSN PrimeTicket at 9 p.m. The game can also be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM and LMULions.com.

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 Saint Mary's at 16-13 overall and 7-6 in WCC play. They have won three straight, four of their last five and six of the last eight. Here is what they have accomplished this season:
• The most wins (16) since going 18-11 in 1995-96.
• Second best turn-around in school history with 13 more wins than a year ago. Second-best turn-around in the nation this season as of Feb. 25. (Coastal Carolina is +14)
• More than triple number of WCC wins (7) 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.
• Most road wins (6) since winning six in that 1995-96 season. The last time they had more than six was with 7 in 1990-91.

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 17.1 points per contest and rebounds at 7.1 per contest after going for 35 and eight against USD Thursday. 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 14.7 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 leads the WCC in assists at 5.90 per game and in steals at 1.93 per game. Sophomore Jarred DuBois has scored double digits in 15 of the last 16 games he has played, putting in 12.4 on the season and is second for the Lions with 49 three-pointers, hitting at a 40.5 percent clip. Sophomore Kevin Young has vaulted his average over two points the past month and he is now averaging 11.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Junior Larry Davis made his return to the line-up on the weekend, and is fifth on the team with 10.3 points per contest.

OFFENSE FROM DEFENSE
In winning six of their last eight, 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 8-1 overall and 6-0 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 7.76 average, grabbing 225, including 13 against Portland
• Second in the WCC in blocks with 4.24 per game, blocking 123 after just 55 a year ago.
• First in the WCC in turnover margin at +0.59 and third in field goal percentage defense at 43.1

TURNAROUND
Second-year Head Coach Max Good has helped lead the Lions on a resurgence this season. The Lions have 13 more wins than last season, making it the second best turnaround in school history. The Lions enter the game against Saint Mary's with 16 wins, including victories at Notre Dame, at USC, nationally ranked Gonzaga, previously ranked Portland, 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).