March 2, 2011

As the calendar turns to March, in college basketball it means tournament time. And with it, LMU will head to Las Vegas, Nev., for the 2011 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championships at the Orleans Arena, March 4-7. The Lions will open against Portland in the first round on Friday at 6 p.m. The Pilots (20-10) won both meetings in the regular season over the Lions (10-20). The game will be on ESPN3.com/ESPN Full Court/BYUtv and can also be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and LMULions.com.

LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA
• TV: ESPN Full Court/BYUtv
• RADIO: KXLU 88.9 FM
• WEBCAST: ESPN3.com
• LIVE STATS:
• GAMEDAY: WCC Tournament Central
• RESOURCES: Interactive Yearbook/Media Almanac • Game Notes in PDF • Interactive Game Notes

INSIDE THE LIONS
LMU enters the 2011 WCC Men's Basketball Championships coming off another pair of heartbreakers to end the regular season, falling to Santa Clara 94-88 in double overtime on Thursday and at the buzzer to USF on Saturday, 77-75. They now have a record of 10-20 overall and 2-12 in the WCC. In WCC play, the Lions have dropped seven of their setbacks by a combined 23 points (3.2 per game), including a pair of double overtime setbacks (Portland and SCU), Saturday's two-point loss, a one-point setback to USF in the first meeting and three points on the road to Pepperdine. The Lions started their third different line-up in as many games against SCU, bringing their total to 15 on the season and nine in WCC play thanks to three more out due to illness/injury (see page 23 for complete list of line-ups). Larry Davis continues to deal with a pulled groin and Edgar Garibay a severe sprained right ankle. Garibay and Davis have missed the last four games. Drew Viney, who was named Honorable Mention All-WCC, has come back in a big way after missing three games due to migraines, going for 96 points, 27 rebounds, 10 assists, five blocks and five steals in the final four games of the regular season, including his ninth career double-double against Santa Clara, scoring a season-high 30 points with 11 rebounds. He leads the team in scoring at 16.8 ppg and rebounds at 6.5 rpg, ranking second and fifth, respectively, in the WCC. He is averaging 24.0 points the last four games. Vernon Teel joins Viney as an Honorable Mention All-WCC selection, averaging 12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. Freshman Anthony Ireland is turning heads in his first season of college basketball, averaging 10.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 3.1 apg. He equaled a career-high against Santa Clara, scoring 21 points. He also had his first double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first meeting against Gonzaga. He was named WCC All-Freshman this past week. Ireland is the third straight Lion to earn WCC All-Freshman honors, joining Ashley Hamilton from 2010 and Jarred DuBois from 2009. The three All-WCC selections in 2011 matches the three from a year ago, making it the first time since 1988-89/1989-90 the Lions have done that in back-to-back seasons.

THE MATCH-UP
For the sixth time since the WCC Basketball Championships began (1987), LMU and Portland will meet in March. The Lions hold a 3-2 edge when playing in the WCC tournament, with Portland winning in 2007 on their home floor, 55-41. The Pilots took both meeting in the regular season in 2011, winning in double overtime in Portland on Jan. 13, 79-78, and then winning at Gersten Pavilion, 71-48, on Feb. 12. This will be the 84th meeting all-time between the two, with the Lions holding a slim 42-41 edge in the overall series. In game one at Potland, the Lions and Pilots found themselves in an overtime tussle for the second straight meeting (they ended 2010 series in overtime). Drew Viney scored 20 of his 24 points after halftime, including his three-pointer that completed a comeback and helped send the game to overtime. Luke Sikma scored eight of his 24 points in overtime to lead Portland to the win. Sikma was named All-WCC this season. In the second meeting, Portland took advantage of poor shooting by the Lions to post an 18-point first half lead and never looked back. Sikma killed the Lions again with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Larry Davis had 11 and Anthony Ireland 10. Viney did not play in the game due to Migraines. The Lions finished the game shooting just 29.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from the free throw line. Portland was 46.6 percent from the field.

SO CLOSE
The 2011 WCC season is proving to be one of a heartbreaking nature. Twenty-one of the Lions' 30 games heading into the WCC tournament have been decided by 10 points or less. The Lions fell to 6-15 in those games with the two heartbreakers in the Bay Area last weekend. Eleven of these games have come in WCC play, with the Lions going just 2-9. Half of the WCC games (seven) have been decided by a combined 23 points (3.2 per game). Overall on the season, LMU has had seven setbacks by a combined 13 points. Those include Morgan State by two, Bradley by two, Portland by one, Pepperdine by three, two games against USF by three total points, and on the road at 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 41 games decided by 10 points or less, going 18-25 overall and 7-13 against WCC opponents.

ON FIRE
It has been a season of ups and downs for junior Drew Viney, missing five games on the year due to injury (two games with a calf injury prior to WCC play and three games in the middle of WCC play due to migraines). However, he is hitting stride in the final weeks of the season, working his way up the record books at LMU and while claiming his second consecutive All-WCC honor (first team in 2010, honorable mention in 2011). He closed the regular season with four straight games over 20 points, averaging 24.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 bpg and 1.3 spg in the final games of the regular season. He has raised his scoring average nearly two points in that stretch on the season and he enters the 2011 WCC Basketball Championships ranked second in the WCC in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He is also ranked 5th in rebounds (6.5 rpg), 12th in field goal percentage (46.5), 12th in three-point field goal percentage (36.2), 5th in blocked shots (1.0 bpg), 13th in three-point field goals per game (1.4), 4th in defensive rebounds (5.2) and 3rd in minutes played (33.5 mpg). He has found his long-distance form in WCC play, ranking second in the league by hitting 45.9 percent of his three-pointers (17-for-37). In LMU history, he currently ranks 15th in career scoring average (16.8 ppg), 16th in made three-pointers (97), 17th in three-pointers attempted (242), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.401), 21st in free throw percentage (.791), 23rd in rebound average (6.8 rpg), t-10th in blocks (63), and 4th in block average (1.1).

NEW YORK CONNECTION
Both Vernon Teel and Larry Davis are from New York and both came to LMU as transfers in 2008-09. They both will wrap-up their careers together. 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 in the first meeting with Pepperdine, he reached 1,000 in his career, the 30th player in school history to reach the milestone. Thanks to 21 points and eight rebounds against USF, he ranks 21st all-time at LMU in scoring with 1,127 points and is in the top-30 in nine other categories. Heading into the WCC Championships, he ranks 21st in career points average (14.3), sixth in free throws made (375), fifth in free throws attempted (550), eighth in assists (348), ninth in assist average (4.4), t-23rd in blocks (38), 24th in block average (0.5), t-12th in steals (133) and tied for 13th in double-doubles (11). He has five double-doubles on the year and entered the week 12th in the WCC in scoring (12.8 ppg), 10th in rebounds (5.7 rpg), 5th in assists (3.9 apg), 5th in steals (1.6 spg), and 8th in defensive rebounds (4.1 drpg).
• As for Larry Davis, his senior season has been his most productive at LMU after struggling through an Achilles 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), and 7th in three-point field goal percentage (39.0). In terms of his career, he has cracked the century mark in terms of games played, playing in No. 106 games entering the Santa Clara game.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
With an experienced roster returning, the Lions added just three scholarship players to the roster. Freshmen Anthony Ireland, Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Godwin Okonji have made the most of their opportunity, averaging more than 20 minutes per game each. Here is what they have done entering the week:
• Anthony Ireland has led the Lions' trio of freshman in the 2010-11 season, earning WCC All-Freshman honors after a season that saw him rank second on the team in minutes per game at 30.8. 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. He is starting to work his way into the freshman record book, becoming just the eighth freshman in LMU history to crack 300 points, ranking 8th with 304 points. He also ranks third in assists with 92 and seventh in steals with 29. Entering the 2011 WCC Championships, he ranks 22nd in the WCC in scoring (10.1 ppg), 8th in assists (3.1), and 6th in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). Against the WCC, he has shown to be steady at the point in averaging nearly two assists per turnover and ranking fourth in assist/turnover ratio (2.0).
• 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. He now has 37 on the season to rank tied for 9th for blocks in a single season. His 152 rebounds so far this season is tied for third all-time for a freshman at LMU. He is averaging 5.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.28 blocks and 0.71 steals per game. He entered the week ranked 16th in the WCC in rebounds, 3rd in blocks and 6th in offensive rebounds (2.3 orpg).
• As for Ayodeji Egbeyemi, he struggled through an ankle injury suffered against Rider, missing four games. However, since WCC play has begun, he has taken off. He earned his first career start against Gonzaga, going for nine points in 27 minutes and has been in the starting rotation since. He had a break-out game in the first meeting against San Francisco, leading the team in points and rebounds with 15 and 10. It is his first career double-double and career-highs in both categories. Since WCC play began, Egbeyemi is averaging over 26.0 minutes per game in conference play, including 47 minutes against Satna Clara, while scoring 6.9 points per WCC contest. Overall, Egbeyemi is averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while hitting 18 three-pointers in 21.7 minutes per contest.

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 15 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 (see page 23 for complete list of line-ups). 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... Larry Davis did not play in the last four games due to a groin strain suffered in practice. He will be evaluated before the game against Portland... Drew Viney sat out most of the second half against San Francisco due to migraines, and then missed the next three games due to the affects of migraines. He returned to action against Pepperdine. He also missed a pair of games earlier this season due to a calf bruise suffered against Rider. In addition, Godwin Okonji suffered a broken nose in the first meeting against Portland. He missed the Gonzaga game but was back against Pepperdine... Ashley Hamilton did not play against Pepperdine due to the flu. He had also suffered a broken hand against Sacramento State, which sidelined him for six games... 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... Ayodeji Egbeyemi also missed five games during non-conference with an ankle sprain.