Jan. 8, 2011

The two-game homestand to open West Coast Conference play for LMU men's basketball continues when the Lions host San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 8 at Gersten Pavilion. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and the game can be watched through Lions' All-Access on LMULions.com and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.

LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA
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• RADIO: KXLU 88.9 FM
• WEBCAST: Lions' All-Access
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• RESOURCES: GameDay Central • Interactive Yearbook/Media Almanac • Game Notes in PDF • Interactive Game Notes

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions enter game two of the 2010-11 WCC season at 7-8, falling to Saint Mary's 98-75 on Thursday night in the WCC opener. The Lions came into conference play on an upswing thanks to an 87-80 win on the road to UC Irvine on Dec. 30. Five players scored in double-figures, including 22 and 20 from their 1-2 punch of Drew Viney and Vernon Teel. Viney had his seventh career double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Anteaters, hitting 7-for-10 from the field. Teel scored 20 points with seven rebounds, hitting 10-for-13 from the charity stripe. The duo, who led the Lions in 2009-10 and were selected preseason All-WCC, are at it again, going 1-2 in scoring and rebounds for the Lions. After missing two games with the calf injury, Drew Viney returned to action, coming off the bench to finish with 15 points and six rebounds, hitting 3-for-5 from long range to pace the Lions to the 69-49 win over Sacramento State. He then went for 15 and 9 against Florida State on Dec. 19. He entered the week ranked 4th in scoring (16.0 ppg), second in rebounds (7.8 rpg), 12th in field goal percentage (48.0), 4th in blocked shots (1.3 bpg), second in defensive rebounds (6.5) and 3rd in minutes played (32.9 mpg). As for Vernon Teel, he has four double-doubles on the year and is 6th in the WCC in scoring (14.2 ppg), 4th in rebounds (7.1 rpg), 4th in assists (3.9 apg), 11th in free throw percentage (76.1 percent), 1st in steals (2.2 spg), 14th in blocked shots (0.50 bpg), fourth in defensive rebounds (5.5 drpg), 13th in offensive rebounds (1.6) and 4th in minutes played (32.7 mpg).

INJURIES
The past two seasons, injuries have plagued the Lions and they have reared their ugly head once again. LMU entered the season returning four of five starters from last year. Because of the injuries, LMU has had to start six different starting line-ups and have played just three games this season with all four of those returners healthy. The latest injury is a broken hand to Ashley Hamilton suffered against Sacramento State. He had surgery and will be out four to six weeks and was cleared to practice Friday and is questionable for Saturday's game against USD. 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 will likely apply for a medical redshirt. The ACL injury from last season of Edgar Garibay carried over to this season as he missed the last four games due to soreness in his knee. He then suffered a concussion in practice prior to the UC Irvine game and did not play. He was cleared to practice heading into the game against Saint Mary's. Drew Viney also missed a pair of games this season due to a calf bruise but returned to the line-up during the four-game homestand. Ayodeji Egbeyemi also missed five games with an ankle sprain and also returned during the Lions homestand.

MATCH-UP
The series history between LMU and San Diego is one of the younger ones of the conference foes for the Lions. The meeting on Jan. 8 will be the 81st between the two programs 100 miles a part. The Lions won both meetings last season to push the series edge in their favor, 41-39. The Lions hold a 21-19 advantage at home, winning 68-62 on Jan. 28, 2010 last year. They then won 72-69 behind 35 points from Drew Viney on Feb. 25, 2010 in San Diego...The Toreros fell in their WCC opener at Pepperidne on Thursday, 75-55. Pepperdine outscored USD by 21 in the second half as the Waves hit 61 percent from the field in the final frame...USD is in a transition season with 12 underclassmen on the roster. In addition, their leading scorer, Darian Norris, is a junior college transfer and is in his first season of NCAA Division I basketball. He scored 14 points against the Waves Thursday and is averaging 10.5 ppg. He also leads the team with 44 assists, 23 steals and a minutes per game average of 32.0...The Toreros are 3-12 on the season and 0-6 on the road this season. They entered WCC play with a 67-64 win over Utah on Dec. 25.