Nov. 28, 2011
Just six games into the 2011-12 Centennial Season, LMU men's basketball will take on their second ranked opponent of the year as No. 23 Saint Louis visits Gersten Pavilion Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. The Billikens, who are 6-0 after winning the 76 Challenge in Anaheim, moved into the rankings this week and are the first ranked opponent to visit Gersten since Feb. 18, 2010 when the Lions defeated No. 9 Gonzaga. The game will be broadcast on Lions' All-Access through LMULions.com and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.
| LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY: GAME: Game 06: LMU (3-2) vs. #23 Saint Louis (6-0)
DATE/TIME: Nov. 29, 2011 // 7:00 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 six of the young 2011-12 season at 3-2, earning an 81-61 win over Northern Arizona on Nov. 26... In the win over NAU, LMU had six players reach double-figures in scoring for the first time since defeating Seattle University, 104-89, on December 20, 2009. The Lions had a season-high 49 rebounds and 21 assists on 30 field goals. The Lions finished the game outrebounding NAU 49-34, grabbing 21 offensive boards in the process. Rebounding was a team effort, as seven players had five or more rebounds on the game. Alex Osborne, Godwin Okonji, Jarred DuBois and Ayodeji Egbeyemi all had six while C.J. Blackwell, Quincy Lawson, and LaRon Armstead had five... Quincy Lawson, Bruce English and C.J. Blackwell had a career-high points against NAU... The Lions improved to 2-0 on the road this season, winning its first two road games of the season for the first time since 1995-96, after the 79-76 win over Idaho State on Nov. 26... Anthony Ireland started the season scoring 20 or more points in four of his last five games. As of Monday, Nov. 28, his 15.8 ppg average is sixth in 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 12.2 turnovers per game heading into game six of the season. 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... After going 2010-11 without facing a ranked opponent, the Lions will face their second in six games to start 2011-12. 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. In game three of the season, the Lions faced Harvard who is now ranked #22 by CBS Sports.
GAME #6
The Lions will begin a four-game week when they take on No. 23 Saint Louis on Tuesday. The Lions will then host the four-team Doubletree Los Angeles Westside Centennial Classic Dec. 2-4. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two Jesuit schools. The game will be part of the Jesuit Spotlight. Saint Louis comes into Tuesday's game on fire, starting the season 6-0 with wins over Washington, Boston College, Villanova and Oklahoma. The last three came in the 76 Classic in Anaheim, where they won the championship. Brian Conklin was named MVP of the tournament and leads the Billikens with 17.0 ppg. Saint Louis enters the game hitting 50 percent as a team from the field and 44.3 percent from the three-point line. The Coach Rick Majerus led Billikens are averaging just 9.1 turnovers per game and have a ppg margin of +17.9 after defeating Oklahoma by 20 for the tournament championship... Coach Good on Saint Louis: "This could be one of the best teams we will face all season. They have the talent to do a lot of damage come March. They shoot the ball so well and are very well coached, which goes without saying. They don't turn the ball over and are very deep. This is a very, very good team."
SAINT LOUIS and ATLANTIC-10
This will be the first meeting between LMU and Saint Louis, and it will be the Lions 23rd meeting between a member of the current Atlantic-10 conference. The Lions last faced an A-10 member on Nov. 16, 2007 when the Lions fell to St. Bonaventure (61-50) in the BTI Invitational in Albuquerque, NM. Of the group, LMU has faced Xavier eight times, the last coming in 1998. LMU is 5-17 all-time against the A-10.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Lions continue to rely heavily on its youth with just three seniors on the roster. Non-seniors are averaging 37 of the 40 minutes per game. Here is a look at some individual notes from the Lions' young roster this season.
Sophomore
Anthony Ireland started the season scoring 22 or more points in four of his last five games, while averaging 21 points per game in that stretch 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. He is sixth in the WCC in scoring at 15.8 ppg, ranks fourth in the WCC and tops for the Lions with 4.2 assists per game, and his four steals against Idaho State was a career-high, bringing his season average to 1.8 spg, ranked sixth in the WCC. On the season he has 21 assists to just 10 turnovers. His 2.1 assist to turnover ratio is second in the league.
Junior
Jarred DuBois is glad to be back on the court after his medical redshirt a year ago. He led the Lions with a season-best 17 against Northern Arizona and is third on the team with 11.8 ppg. He had six assists Saturday and is sixth in assists with 3.8 apg. He is ranked sixth in the WCC with a 84.6 free throw percentage and 10th with a 42.9 three-point field goal percentage.
Second-year forward
Godwin Okonji scoring a career-best 14 points with seven rebounds in the overtime win against Idaho State and backed that with a 10-point, six-rebound effort against NAU. He is averaging 6.0 rpg, 10th in the WCC. 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 43 career blocks ties Art Claybion for 21st all-time at LMU.
Ayodeji Egbeyemi has become another long range threat for the Lions, ranking seventh in the WCC with a 47.4 percentage from the three-point line. He is averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 three-pointers per game.
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 averaging 15.3 points and 3.0 rebounds on the season. He has a deep bruise in his right foot suffered against Harvard and is likely out through the first of December.
The freshman,
Bruce English and
C.J. Blackwell have made multiple appearances for the Lions. Blackwell has played all five games and is averaging 15.8 minutes per game. He is coming off a 10-point performance against NAU. He is averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds so far this season. English made the most of his second appearance on the season against NAU, going for seven points on 3-for-3 shooting.
IN THE POST: LMU's post players have started the season hitting 52.8 percent from the field.
Alex Osborne leads the group at 66.7 percent while
Godwin Okonji has gone 12-for-20 from the field (60 percent).
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 Saint Louis. 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. Edgar Garibay did not play against Northern Arizona due to a concussion suffered in practice. He is expected to be available Tuesday against Saint Louis.
AGAINST THE RANKED
The Lions did not face a ranked opponent in 2010-11 and quickly got one under their belts in 2011-12 with No. 17 UCLA. The Lions' last ranked opponent was No. 14 Gonzaga in the semifinals of the 2010 WCC Championships on Mar. 7, 2010. The Lions fell 77-62. Just over two weeks prior, the Lions earned a 74-66 upset win over then No. 9 Gonzaga on Feb 18. The Lions have now won two of their last three against ranked teams... The opportunities to beat a ranked team at home have been few. The building opened on Jan. 15, 1981 and since then, LMU has hosted just 15 games against a ranked opponent. Overall, in more than 75 years located on the bluff in Westchester, the Lions have hosted just 29 ranked opponents. During the Paul Westhead era, in which the Lions won three West Coast Conference titles, the Lions hosted just one ranked opponent - No. 7 Oklahoma on Dec. 23, 1989... Westhead teams own half of LMU's wins over ranked opponents in school history. The win over Gonzaga snapped a 35-game skid against ranked opponents... In addition, it is the first win at home over a ranked opponent since that 1960-61 squad that won the school's first conference championship. They defeated 18th-ranked Utah that season, 85-64 on Dec. 1, 1960.
- GO LIONS -
