Jan. 14, 2011

The one day turn around on the road in the West Coast Conference has always been a grueling, especially in the Pacific Northwest tour. It will get even more so as LMU completes the two-game tour, taking on Gonzaga, Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5 p.m. The Lions are coming off a 50-minute (double overtime) gut-wrenching setback to Portland on Thursday to sit at 8-9 overall and 1-2 in the WCC. Gonzaga took care of Pepperdine for their eighth straight win to improve to 12-5 overall and 2-0 in the WCC. The game is on Fox Sports NorthWest and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.

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THE MATCH-UP
Like most of the seven series in the WCC for the Zags, thanks to their 10-year title run, they have owned the all-time series. Same is the case with the Lions as Gonzaga holds a 54-21 edge as the teams play for the 76th time on Saturday. It is the "youngest" rivalry of the WCC teams for the Lions. The series edge is even more one sided in Spokane, as the Zags have won 31 of the 37 meetings and have not lost at home to the Lions since 1991. It looked like the Lions were going to finally get one in Spokane in the 2006 WCC Championship game, but a lay-in at the buzzer was off the mark as the Lions lost a heartbreaker to the fourth-ranked Zags.
Gonzaga started the season 4-5, playing a daunting non-conference slate that featured ranked teams San Diego State (L, 79-76), Kansas State (L, 81-64), Illinois (L, 73-61), Notre Dame (L, 83-79), and Baylor (W, 88-64). It also featured Marquette (W, 66-63), Washington St. (L, 81-59), Xavier (W, 64-54), Oklahoma St. (W, 73-52) and Wake Forest (W, 73-63). Since that start, they have rattled off nine straight wins and are 9-1 at home.
Steven Gray leads the team in points (14.9) and assists (4.8). They are yet another hot shooting team, hitting 48.5 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from three.

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions enter game four of the 2010-11 WCC season at 8-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play, falling to Portland 79-78 in double overtime after erasing second-half deficits of 10 points and seven points, the final run coming in the final two minutes. The Lions are once again led by the 1-2 punch of Drew Viney and Vernon Teel. The 2009-10 First-Team All-WCC selections are 1-2 in points and rebounds. Viney leads the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg, going for 24 at Portland Thursday, while Teel averages 14.1. Teel is averaging 9.3 rebounds in conference play and has jumped to 7.5 rebounds per game on the season, just ahead of Viney's 7.3 rpg. The duo has helped the Lions to a +7.5 rebound margin on the season, good for 24th nationally (as of Jan. 8). The Lions have also dug-in on defense, leading the WCC in steals (7.65) and blocks (4.06). Senior Larry Davis and freshman Anthony Ireland continue to give the Lions' a potent three-guard line-up. Ireland is turning heads in his first season of college basketball, averaging 9.9 ppg and 3.25 apg after going for 15 points for the second straight game Thursday night. As for Davis, he continues to thrive after entering the starting line-up on Dec. 1. He leads the team in three-point shooting at 40 percent (22-for-55), and is averaging 9.1 points per contest. He entered the week ranked 10th in the WCC in three-point percentage (40.0) and 24th in scoring, and t-14th in steals.

BIG START
With an experienced roster returning, the Lions added just three scholarship players to the roster. Freshmen Anthony Ireland, Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Godwin Okonji have already made the most of their opportunity, here is what they have done entering the week:
• Anthony Ireland has made the most notable impact, ranking third on the team in minutes per game at 29.4, just behind the Lions' two returning All-WCC performers (Teel and Viney). It started with a bang for Ireland, becoming 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, and posted a career-best 21-point performance against South Dakota. Against San Diego, he went for 15 points, five assists, three rebounds, one block, one steal and just one turnover in 34 minutes. He then followed that with 15 points, three rebounds, an assists, a steal and no turnovers. Entering the week he is 23rd in the WCC in scoring (9.6 ppg), 8th in assists (3.3), 6th in assists/turnover ratio (1.8), 9th in steals and (1.1 spg).
• Godwin Okonji went for 11 points, five rebounds and six blocks in the win over Sacramento State and has been a fixture in the starting line-up. The six blocks was 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. He was one rebound shy of the record held by Wyking Jones for rebounds by a freshman in his first game (9). Okonji did set the record for blocks (4) and tied the record for steals (3) for a freshman in his first game. Okonji followed that performance with a five-point, 10-rebound performance against La Sierra. He joins Ireland and senior Larry Davis as the only Lion to play in every game on the season. He is averaging 5.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 0.63 steals per game. He is ranked 11th in the WCC in rebounds, 3rd in blocks and 3rd in offensive rebounds (2.7 orpg).
• 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. He did it from long distance against Saint Mary's, hitting 3-of-4 from the three-point line. After missing four games from an ankle injury suffered against Rider, Egbeyemi is averaging nearly 20 minutes per game in conference play and more than six points per contest. Overall, he is averaging 4.3 points per game.

THE 1-2 PUNCH
The duo, who led the Lions in 2009-10 and were selected preseason All-WCC, are at it again. Vernon Teel is approaching lofty numbers in his three-year career at LMU and is proving to be a stat-stuffer. He enters the Gonzaga game with 981 career points. He ranks 30th all-time at LMU in scoring and is in the top-30 in free throws, assists, blocks, steals and double-doubles. He has five double-doubles on the year and entered the week 4th in the WCC in scoring (14.6 ppg), 2nd in rebounds (7.3 rpg), 4th in assists (4.0 apg), 12th in free throw percentage (75.5 percent), 1st in steals (2.3 spg), second in defensive rebounds (5.9 drpg), 9th in offensive rebounds (1.9) and 3rd in minutes played (33.1 mpg). After missing two games with the calf injury, Drew Viney got on track in WCC play with 24 points and eight rebounds against Portland. Viney had his seventh career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over UC Irvine in the final non-conference game before WCC play, hitting 7-for-10 from the field. He enters the week ranked 3rd in scoring (14.7 ppg), third in rebounds (7.2 rpg), 11th in field goal percentage (47.3), 5th in blocked shots (1.1 bpg), second in defensive rebounds (5.9) and 5th in minutes played (32.5 mpg).