Feb. 15, 2011

LMU men's basketball will wrap-up a three-game homestand and its home portion of the 2010-11 season when they host Pepperdine on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. It will be senior night at LMU as the Lions will recognize seniors Vernon Teel and Larry Davis as they play in their final home game in the Crimson and Navy. The game will be on ESPNU and KXLU 88.9 FM.

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THE MATCH-UP
The longest running series in program history continues on Wednesday as the Waves and Lions do battle for the 154th time. The Waves took the first meeting of the series on Jan. 22, 78-75, in a game that had 15 ties and 24 lead changes. However, the Lions' bad luck in Firestone Fieldhouse continued as Loren Jackson's three free throws with 12.6 seconds left gave Pepperdine a 78-75 win in Malibu, Calif., Saturday night. Drew Viney's three-pointer with 51 seconds to play gave the Lions a 75-73. However, Jackson was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three free throws to give the Waves a 76-75 lead. After a charge called on LMU, Pepperdine hit both free throws with four seconds left and Anthony Ireland's three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. The Waves would finish a perfect 14-for-14 from the charity stripe. Ashley Hamilton had a season-high 19 points to lead the Lions, hitting 7-for-7 from the field and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe while adding six rebounds. Viney added 17 points and six boards, while Teel scored 13 points to reach 1,000 in his career, the 30th player in LMU history to earn the milestone. The meeting will count towards the PCH Cup. Now in its second year, the PCH Cup is a season-long competition encompassing all athletic meetings between the two local rivals separated by just 19.1 miles. Pepperdine won the first crown in 2009-10 (14.5 to 8.5). A home win is worth one points, a road win is worth 1.5 points.

INSIDE THE LIONS
LMU enters the game against Pepperdine at 9-17 overall and 1-10 in the WCC, dropping half of those by an average of just three points, including a three-point setback to San Diego, a one-point double overtime setback in the first meeting at Portland, a one-point setback to USF and three points on the road to Pepperdine. Injuries continue to hinder the Lions' consistency as they had a different starting line-up in eight straight games (snapped on Thursday at home against Gonzaga) and have started 12 different line-ups on the season, six coming in WCC play. The 12th line-up change came last Saturday against Saint Mary's as leading scorer and rebounder Drew Viney missed the game due to illness and migraines. He has missed the last three games but is expected to play against Pepperdine. The Lions' started three freshman, a sophomore and a senior on Thursday. Drew Viney and Vernon Teel rank 1-2 in points and rebounds again this season. Viney, who went for 26 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year against Seattle, leads the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg and rebounds at 6.5 rpg, while Teel averages 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season. Sophomore Ashley Hamilton has come on strong in the last few weeks, going for 16 points against Saint Mary's. He is now averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. Freshman Anthony Ireland is turning heads in his first season of college basketball, averaging 9.8 ppg and 3.0 apg, earning his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting against Gonzaga.

SENIOR DAY
It is the final home game for seniors Vernon Teel and Larry Davis. Both transfered to LMU in the 2008-09 season with Teel coming from Chipola Junior College in Florida and Davis from Seton Hall. Here is what they have done at LMU:
• Vernon Teel is approaching lofty numbers in his three-year career at LMU and is proving to be a stat-stuffer. With 13 points against Pepperdine, he reached 1,000 in his career, the 30th player in school history to reach the milestone. He ranks 28th all-time at LMU in scoring (1,065 pts) and is in the top-30 in nine other categories. He entered the week 21st in career points average (14.2), seventh in free throws made (357), sixth in free throws attempted (525), eighth in assists (334), ninth in assist average (4.5), t-24th in blocks (36), 24th in block average (0.5), 13th in steals (128) and tied for 13th in double-doubles (11). He has five double-doubles on the year and enters the week 13th in the WCC in scoring (12.4 ppg), 7th in rebounds (5.8 rpg), 4th in assists (3.8 apg), 5th in steals (1.7 spg), 7th in defensive rebounds (4.2 drpg), and 15th in offensive rebounds (1.7).
• As for Davis, his senior season has been his most productive at LMU after struggling through an achillies injury suffered prior to last season. He has shown his scoring touch again this season, averaging 8.4 points and 1.42 assists while leading the team with 30 three-pointers on 39 percent shooting. He is currently ranked 28th in the WCC in scoring (8.4 ppg), eighth in three-point field goal percentage (39.0), and 15th in three-pointers per game (1.3). In terms of his career, he has cracked the century mark in terms of games played, playing in No. 107 tonight against Pepperdine.

SOLES 4 SOULS
The West Coast Conference and Zappos.com have partnered with Soles for Soles for the third straight year to donate gently worn or new shoes to countries facing natural disasters. Through February 26, donation bins will be located in Gersten Pavilion for LMU to make donations for those in need and there are two more men's basketball home games for fans to make a difference. Fans interested in donating to the cause can bring their shoes to LMU basketball games through February 26. Soles4Souls is an organization that collects shoes and distributes them worldwide to those who are in need of simple commodities we often take for granted, such as a pair of shoes. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7.5 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes, and are currently donating one pair every seven seconds. The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. LMU has led the conference in donations the last two years, winning the eight-school competition with over 3,500 pairs of shoes in 2009-10.

SO CLOSE
The 2011 WCC season is proving to be one of a heartbreaking nature. Seventeen of the Lions' 26 games heading into Pepperdine have been decided by 10 points or less. The Lions are just 5-12 in those games. Eight have come in WCC play, with the Lions going just 1-7. Half of the WCC games have been decided by a combined 15 points (3.0 per game). Overall on the season, LMU has had six setbacks by a combined 12 points. Those include Morgan State by two, Bradley by two, Portland by one, Pepperdine by three, USF by one and San Diego by three. The 2009-10 season was not one for the faint of heart either. The Lions had 22 of their 33 games decided by 10 points or less and they were 12-10 in those games, 5-4 in WCC play. In the last two years the Lions have played in 29 games decided by 10 points or less, going 17-22 overall and 6-11 against WCC opponents.

INJURIES
The past two seasons, injuries and illness 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 and illness, LMU has started 12 different line-ups on the year, and on the season have played just three games this season with all four of those returning starters healthy. Drew Viney sat out most of the second half against San Francisco due to migraines, and then missed the last three games due to the affects of migraines. He is expected to play against Pepperdine. Injuries continue to plague redshirt freshman Edgar Garibay. A sprained right ankle suffered against Portland will have him out the rest of the season. He also missed seven games due to soreness in his knee from his ACL injuries suffered last season. He then suffered a concussion in practice prior to the UC Irvine game and did not play... In addition, Godwin Okonji suffered a broken nose in the first meeting against Portland. He missed the Gonzaga game but was back against Pepperdine. Prior to Okonji, a broken hand to Ashley Hamilton suffered against Sacramento State sidelined him for six games and he played for the first time in a month against Portland, going for five points, eight rebounds, two assists and four steals in 33 minutes... 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 returned and he first missed the game against Long Beach State. He had surgery on Jan. 12, 2011 and will miss the entire season. He will apply for a medical redshirt... Drew Viney also missed a pair of games this season due to a calf bruise. Ayodeji Egbeyemi also missed five games with an ankle sprain.