Nov. 25, 2011
After a travel day early Thanksgiving morning, LMU returns from their overtime win at Idaho State to take on the Big Sky Conference for the second straight time, facing Northern Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m. It begins a six-game homestand for the Lions, which is also part of a Holiday Tripleheader with the women's basketball tournament taking place earlier that day. The game will be broadcast online through Lions' All-Access on LMULions.com and aired on the radio on KXLU 88.9 FM. FANS, GO TO LMU GAMEDAY FOR A SPECIAL ALERT ABOUT PARKING FOR THIS GAME.
| LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY: GAME: Game 05: LMU (2-2) vs. Northern Ariz. (2-3)
DATE/TIME: Nov. 26, 2011 // 7:30 p.m. (PST)
LOCATION: Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
TV: None
RADIO: KXLU 88.9 FM (Jeff Lampe)
WEBCAST: Lions' All-Access
LIVE Stats:
RESOURCES: | |
INSIDE THE LIONS
LMU enters game five of the young 2011-12 season at 2-2, earning a 79-76 overtime win at Idaho State on Nov. 23... The Lions improve to 2-0 on the road this season, winning its first two road games of the season for the first time since 1995-96... Anthony Ireland is picking up where he left his freshman campaign in 2010-11. With 25 points, four assists, four rebounds and four steals on Wednesday, Ireland has scored 20 or more points in four of his last five games. As of Friday, Nov. 25, his 19.3 ppg average leads the WCC... In the Lions overtime win on Wednesday, it featured 25 lead changes and 11 ties. Since lead changes started to be consistently noted on official box scores the past decade, it is the most in program history. On Jan. 11, 2011, the Lions fell to Pepperdine 78-75 in a game that featured 24 leads changes... The Lions have been taking care of the basketball, averaging just 11.75 turnovers per game heading into game five of the season. Through four games, it is the lowest turnover average after four games in program history. Although early, the Lions lead the league with the lowest turnover average. The lowest in school history was 11.7 in 1983-84 with the second lowest coming two years ago in 2009-10 at 12.9 tpg... The Lions opened the season with a 69-58 win over No. 17 UCLA on the road. It was the first time the Lions have opened a season with a ranked opponent since UNLV in the 1989-90 season... The Lions defeated a ranked opponent for the second time in three tries, defeating #9 Gonzaga on Feb. 19, 2010 and then falling to the Zags on Mar. 7, 2010, 77-62. It was just the third win for the Lions over the Bruins in 18 tries, the first since 1941 (70 years)... The Lions hit 10 three-pointers in the win over UCLA, the most since Jan. 14, 2010 against USF. The 66.7 percent from long range is the best shooting percentage since hitting 8-for-11 against Portland on Jan. 14, 2006.
GAME #5
The Lions will begin their six-game homestand when they face Northern Arizona on Saturday. This will be the eighth meeting all time between LMU and NAU. The series began in 1937 and the last meeting came at the Gosner Food Classic hosted by Utah State on Dec. 29, 2004. LMU leads the series 5-2. After dropping their first three games of the season, NAU is 2-3 on the year after home wins over Arizona Christian (103-42) and Northern New Mexico (80-49). The Lumberjacks fell to San Francisco in the Hilltop Challenge, 69-50, on Nov 12 and will also host Pepperdine on Dec. 7. James Douglas leads NAU with 13.2 ppg, hitting 10-for-24 from the three-point line. As a team, they hit 39.4 percent from long distance... Coach Good on Northern Arizona: "They are a young team that has very good freshman guards, including leading scorer James Douglas. They run a system where they look to shoot the three-pointer. We will have to really pressure the ball. They do a good job in spacing the floor while running four-out and one-in. They screen very well, so defensively we will really have to communicate."
NORTHERN ARIZONA and THE BIG SKY
The Lions will face a Big Sky opponent for the second straight game. The Lions have played a member of the Big Sky three straight seasons, taking on Portland State and Sacramento State in 2010-11 and Montana and Sac. St. in 2009-10. The Lions are 21-22 against the current members of the Big Sky. Programs from the states of Montana and Utah have not been kind to the Lions as LMU is 20-5 against teams in the conferece not from those states.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Lions continue to rely heavily on its youth with just three seniors on the roster. The Lions are playing 37 minutes of the 40 minutes per game with non-seniors on the floor. Here is a look at some individual notes from the Lions' young roster this season.
Sophomore Anthony Ireland has scored 22 or more points in four of his last five games, while averaging 21 points per game dating back to the Lions' finale against Santa Clara last season. His 26-point effort against Harvard was a career-high and the second best point performance in the WCC this season. As of Friday, Nov. 25, he leads the WCC in scoring at 19.5 ppg, ranks third in the WCC and tops for the Lions with 4.3 assists per game, and his four steals against Idaho State was a career-high, bringing his season average to 2.3 spg, ranked fourth in the WCC. On the season he has 17 assists to just five turnovers while ranking third on the team with 4.0 rebounds per contest. His 3.4 assist to turnover ratio is second in the league.
Fellow second-year teammate Godwin Okonji had one of his best games in his young career, scoring a career-best 14 points with seven rebounds in the overtime win against Idaho State. He is averaging 6.0 rpg, going for 16 the last two games. He finished his freshman season averaging 5.4 rebounds with 38 blocks to lead the Lions. He leads the team in rebounds and has added three blocks to his resume. His 41 career blocks ties Bo Kimble for 22nd all-time at LMU.
Ashley Hamilton, a redshirt junior, earned the first West Coast Conference Player of the Week honor of the season and the first of his career after he averaged 19 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals while hitting 13-for-26 from the field, 10-for-12 from the free throw line and 2-for-3 from long range over the Lions' first two games. He is aveaging 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds on the season and is shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. He has a deep bruise in his right foot suffered against Harvard and is likely out through the first of December.
Alex Osborne has averaged 15 minutes per game the two games he has played since becoming elgible due to redshirt rules as a third-year sophomore. Osborne has been efficient in his time on the floor, hitting 6-for-7 from the field (85.7 percent) and is averaging 6.0 ppg and 2.0 rpg. Osborne is a redshirt sophomore for the Lions.
Ayodeji Egbeyemi has become another long range threat for the Lions. He ranked in the top-10 during WCC games at the end of last season in three-point percentage, and leads the Lions through four games this season in hitting 46.7 percent (7-for-15). He went 2-for-5 against Idaho State, finishing with eight points. He is averaging 6.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 three-pointers per game. His three-point percentage and three-poitners made is in the top-12 for both categories in the WCC.
The freshman, Bruce English and C.J. Blackwell have made apperances for the Lions. Blackwell as played all four games and is averaging 15.5 minutes per game. He is coming off an eight-point performance against Idaho State. He is averaging 6.0 points and 2.3 rebounds so far this season. English made his first apperance against Harvard, playing four minutes with a steal.
LAST TIME OUT
Sophomore Anthony Ireland scored 25 points to lead LMU (2-2) to a 79-76 win in overtime over Idaho State (1-3) at Reed Gym in Pocatello, Idaho, on Tuesday night. Ireland scored the Lions' final six points in a game that featured 11 ties and 25 lead changes, 17 in the second half alone. Ireland led all scorers by hitting 10-for-21 from the field, adding four assists, four rebounds and four steals. Godwin Okonji added a career-high 14 points with seven rebounds, while Jarred DuBois added 12 points for the Lions. It was a two-man show of the Bengals, who made a living at the three-point line, going 12-for-28 from long range. Doing most of the damage was Melvin Morgan and Chase Grabau, who scored 24 and 22 points, respectively. They combined to hit 10-for-16 from long range, including six from Morgan. The Lions trailed by four, 74-70, after a three-pointer and free throw on separate possessions by Morgan with 1:58 to play in overtime. The Lions answered on the next trip down the floor as DuBois hit a three-pointer of his own to cut the lead to 74-73 with 1:41 to play. LMU's defense stepped it up a notch as they forced a double-dribble and Ireland scored on a drive down the lane to give the Lions the lead for good, 75-74, with :53 to play.Ireland then played perfect deny defense on Morgan, creating a steal and a lay-in to give the Lions a big three-point lead, 77-74, with :23 to play. Morgan cut the lead to a pair on a lay-in with :19 to play, and it took the Bengals 10 seconds to foul Ireland. The second-year player would drain a pair of free throws with eight seconds left.
THE ROSTER
Junior Ashley Hamilton, who was the Lions' leading scorer after two games, played 16 minutes against Harvard, scoring eight points before he left with a injury to his right foot. He is likely out for the game against Northern Arizona. Two-time All-WCC selection Drew Viney will have the start of his redshirt senior season delayed due to surgery on his left foot. He injured the foot right before the official start of practice in mid-October. He has been cleared to start practice but not full contact and is expected to return to the line-up for the Centennial Classic.
- GO LIONS -
