Jan. 27, 2012
The four-game homestand for the LMU men's basketball team continues on Saturday, Jan. 28 as the Lions enter a huge stretch in conference play when they host Portland for the 2012 Centennial Homecoming Game. The game will be televised on Fox Sports West with a tip-off set for 7 p.m. The festivities begin with the ASLMU Pregame Tailgate Party in the Burns Rec Center parking lot starting at 5 p.m. The game can also be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and seen online outside of the PrimeTicket broadcast area on LMULions.com.
| LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY: GAME: LMU (12-9, 5-3) vs. Portland (5-16, 2-6)
DATE/TIME: Jan. 26, 2012 // 7:00 p.m. (PST)
LOCATION: Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
TV: FS West (Chris McGee & Mitch Butler)
RADIO: KXLU 88.9 FM (Jeff Lampe)
WEBCAST: Lions' All-Access
LIVE STATS:
RESOURCES: |
GAME #20 - 2012 HOMECOMING
LMU and Portland will meet for the 85th time on Saturday with the Lions holding a 43-41 edge in the series. The game will feature the two best free throw shooting teams in the conference (LMU - 73.7%; POR - 72.7%) and match-up between one of the league's top scorers in LMU's Anthony Ireland (2nd - 19.0 ppg) and one of the league's top rebounders in Portland's Ryan Nicholas (3rd - 8.6 rpg). It will be full day of activities as the game will be the 2012 Centennial Homecoming. Action begins at 5 p.m., with the ASLMU Pregame Tailgate Party in the Burns Rec Center Parking Lot. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports West and Comcast Northwest at 7 p.m. The game is sponsored by the LMU Alumni Association, LionsFund and ASLMU. Halftime will feature a performance by LMU's dance team IB Modern and the 2012 Homecoming Ceremonies. Fans are reminded to show up early for the annual Homecoming T-Shirt Giveaway. The game is also part of the Suits and Sneakers promotion for Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The staffs of both teams will make an unusual fashion statement by wearing sneakers with their suits, putting aside the rivalry on the court to come together to raise awareness about the fight against cancer and the American Cancer Society's important effort to safe lifes. Fans can join the fight against cancer by texting COACH to 20222 for any wireless phone to make a $5 donation toward Coaches vs. Cancer and finding a cure.
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions conclude a stretch of three games in six days when they host Portland Saturday. The stretch began with the Lions winning their fifth straight game on the road Monday, defeating Santa Clara 74-62. The Lions then fell Thursday to No. 20 Saint Mary's at home, 71-64. The Lions are 12-9 overall and 5-3 in the WCC.
Anthony Ireland had more than 20 points for the eighth time on the season and for the second straight game, going for 25 points and five assists against the Broncos. He earned WCC Player of the Week and CollegeInsider.com National Player of the Week honors after going for a career high 27 points in the win over BYU last Thursday. He added five assists and five steals, hitting 7-for-9 from the field and 12-for-14 from the charity stripe, all in the final four minutes of the game. He is ranked third overall in the WCC in scoring at 15.8 ppg and second in WCC games at 19.0 ppg.
The Lions are now 7-2 on the road this season, winning five in a row all in WCC play and have matched the 1990-91 team for the most road wins since the Paul Westhead era. The Lions have won their first five road games in conference play for the first time since the Lions went 14-0 in league play in the 1987-88 season.
Drew Viney returned to the line-up on Dec. 27 against Vanguard and scored a game-high 29 points with eight rebounds. He had his 11th career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win over the Waves. He has played 11 games on the season and is averaging 16.1 points per contest after going for a team-high 18 points against Saint Mary's. Viney joins Ireland as one of four Lions in double figures for the season. Ashley Hamilton returned to the line-up against San Diego on Jan. 7 for the first time since injuring his foot on Nov. 19, going for 16 points and seven rebounds against the Toreros. In nine games, he is averaging 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds with 12 steals. Junior Jarred DuBois, who had missed the previous three games due to a concussion, averages 10.2 points per game after going for nine against Santa Clara on Monday, making him the 32nd player in LMU history to reach 1,000 in his career. Viney was the 31st earlier in the season.
The Lions lead the WCC in free throw percentage, hitting 73.7 percent after going 12-for-15 (80 percent) against Saint Mary's. The Lions' top-six scorers hit better than 75 percent, including LaRon Armstead's 87.9 percent, which leads the WCC. He is 51-for-58 on the season after hitting all six attempts against BYU. Anthony Ireland is 10th in the WCC at 77.4 percent. Jarred DuBois leads the team at 90.3 percent (28-for-31 - but doesn't qualify for WCC rankings). Drew Viney and Ashley Hamilton are hitting 79.2 and 77.4 percent from the line. In the last two wins (BYU, Santa Clara), the Lions have combined to hit 15-for-16 free throws in the final minute of play to ice the game down the stretch (7-for-8 at BYU; 8-for-8 at SCU).
LMU is tops in the league in three-point field goal defense, holding opponents to 29.1 percent from long range overall and 25.6 percent in WCC games. The Lions have held 11 teams under 30 percent for the game, including BYU's 2-for-25 (8 percent) and Gonzaga to 15.4 percent (2-for-13) . In non-conference they held UCLA to 13.3 percent and North Texas' to 15.8 percent.
More numbers: As of games on Thursday, LMU is one of just six teams in the nation with a 5-0 (or better) road conference record (using CBSSports.com): UNC-Asheville (6-0, Big South), LMU (5-0, WCC), Oral Roberts (5-0, Summit), Wichita State (5-0, Missouri Valley), Creighton (5-0, MVC), and Long Beach State (5-0, Big West). Saint Mary's is 4-0... The Lions are 10-1 when leading at the half, 12-3 when shooting better than 40 percent, 10-0 when scoring 70 or more points, and 7-1 when holding their opponent to less than 40 percent shooting.
The Lions have played in three overtime games in a season for the first time since 2007-08, winning all three. It is the first time in program history the Lions have won three overtime games in a single season.
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