March 7, 2010

WCC SEMIFINAL GAME NOTES in Printable PDF Format

INTERACTIVE GAME NOTES WITH AUDIO:

INSIDE THE LIONS AT THE WCC TOURNAMENT:

LMU men's basketball defeated San Francisco 84-76 on Saturday night to advance to the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championships semifinals against top-seed and 14th-ranked Gonzaga on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. It will be an up-and-comer against the established as the Lions will be making their sixth trip to the WCC semifinals just one year after a three win season, while the Zags have made it to the WCC title game every years since 1998. The game will be live on ESPN2 and can also be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM, LMULions.com and Sirius Satellite Radio. For complete tournament information, visit the LMU WCC tournament central.

AT THE WCC TOURNEY The Lions advance to the semifinals for the first time since playing in the title game of the 2006 WCC Championship held in Spokane, Wash. The two wins in the tournament continues this seasons revival as it is the first time since 1996 the Lions defeated their rival twice in one season and the first time the Lions have defeated the Dons in the WCC tournament in five tries. Like they did to start the 2009-10 campaign, the Lions got their offense going with back-to-back 80-point games, scoring 87 and 84, respectively. It is the most points in back-to-back games in the WCC tournament since going for 110, 109 and 104 in winning the title in 1989. It is the 14th game this season with 80 or more points, more than double the last three seasons combined, and is the most points for the Lions in the WCC tournament since they upset No. 1 seed Santa Clara, 87-83, as the No. 8 seed in the 1995 tournament held at Santa Clara. The Lions have put up several numbers in two tournament games that rank in the top-five all-time for LMU in the WCC tournament:

• LMU won two games in the WCC tournament for the first time since winning it in 1989.
• Six team blocks against Pepperdine most in a single game (tied with games in 2004 and 2002)
• 10 turnovers was the third fewest (8 is the record) • Against Pepperdine, the 27 free throws made is a record while the 36 free throws attempted ranked fourth in a WCC tournament game
• 80.0 free throw percentage (20-for-25) against USF tied for fourth (vs. Santa Clara, Mar. 7, 1988)
• Ashley Hamilton's 13 free throws vs. Pep ranked second (Hank Gathers had 14 on Mar. 6, 1989 against SCU)
• Ashley Hamilton's 15 free throw attempts is tied for second with Gathers (Mar. 5, 1988) and Sherman Gay (Mar. 5, 2004)
• Drew Viney's three blocks vs. Pep tied for third with 5 players
• Jarred DuBois' four steals vs. Pep tied for 4th with 6 players

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 be one of the top turnaround stories of 2009-10, reaching milestones as the season reaches its final weeks entering the game against Gonzaga in the WCC tournament at 18-14 overall and 7-7 in WCC play. The Lions enter the game winners of five out of their last six and seven of their last nine. Here is what they have accomplished this season:

• Equalling the most wins (18) since the Elite Eight team of 1989-90, matching 1995-96 (18-11).
• Second best turn-around in school history with 15 more wins than a year ago. Second-best turn-around
in the nation this season as of Mar. 7. (Coastal Carolina is +17). See note below.
• 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.
• Had three players earn postseason All-WCC honors, just the 10th time since 1956 three or more Lions have claimed WCC honors (Viney, Teel and Hamilton).

WCC HONORS
For just the 10th time since LMU joined the West Coast Conference in 1955-56, the Lions have earned at least three postseason honors as voted on by the conference coaches, as the WCC announced that Drew Viney and Vernon Teel have earned first-team All-WCC honors while Ashley Hamilton has earned WCC All-Freshman honors. Viney and Teel become just the 11th LMU duo to take home first-team All-WCC honors, while Hamilton is the fourth Lion to earn freshman honors. Jarred DuBois was an WCC All-Freshman selection a year ago, while the Lions had a trio of players earn All-WCC first-team honors in 2005-06.

SEEING DOUBLES
All season the Lions have had balance with at least four players averaging double figures in scoring all season. On the season, Drew Viney (16.8), Vernon Teel (15.2), Jarred DuBois (12.5) and Kevin Young (10.6) enter the WCC semifinals averaging double figures. And it has been the same in the WCC tournament, as four players are averaging double figures through the two games. Teel has been stellar, putting 22.5, while Ashley Hamilton is showing why he earned WCC All-Freshman honors by putting in 18.5 per game. Viney and DuBois have scored 15.0 and 11.5, respectively, in the two games. On the season, six players have scored at least 22 points in a single game this season, the most among any team in the WCC. Larry Davis, who averages 9.2 points per game on the season, DuBois, Hamilton, Teel, Viney, and Young have all gone for 22 at one point this season. That is one more than Sunday's opponent, Gonzaga, who has had five players go for at least 22 (Bouldin, Goodson, Gray, Harris, Sacre). And those six have been a key for the Lions. LMU is 8-0 when Viney, Young, Hamilton, DuBois, Teel, and Davis all play at least 16 minutes in a game and are 10-2 when they have been able to start the rotation of Teel, DuBois, Viney, Young and Hamilton with Davis coming off the bench.

THE MATCH-UP
This will be the 75th meeting between LMU and Gonzaga, and like most series records in the WCC, the Zags lead the series 53-21. The teams, however, split the season series, with each program winning on their home floor. The Zags won the first meeting in Spokane on Jan. 23, 85-69, while LMU defeated Gonzaga 74-66 on Feb. 18. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the WCC tournament since they meet in the heart-stopping title game in Spokane in 2006. The fourth-ranked Zags held on as the Lions missed a lay-up at the buzzer at the McCarthy Athletic Center exactly four years to the day (Mar. 7, 2006), 68-67. This will be the seventh meeting overall between the two teams in the WCC tournament, the most for the Lions against the seven WCC teams. Gonzaga has won the last four meetings, which have come every four years (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006). LMU won the first two meetings (1990, 1989).