Dec. 5, 2013
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LOS ANGELES -- The month-long, 15,000-mile road swing for LMU men's basketball heads back east where the Lions travel to take on unbeaten Pittsburgh on Friday, Dec. 6 at 4 pm PT (7 pm ET). The Lions improved to 6-2 on the season with a 73-69 win at UC Riverside on Monday, while the Panthers moved to 8-0 after a 78-69 win over Penn State on Tuesday. Watch the game live on ESPN3 or listen on KXLU 88.9 FM.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
THE MATCH-UP
This will be the second meeting between the LMU and Pittsburgh, a member of the ACC. The two programs met in 1949 with the Lions winning 54-45 in Los Angeles. This will be just the 19th meeting for LMU against a team from the current ACC, with just six coming in the last 20 years. LMU is 5-13 against the ACC, having faced Virgina (2003, 04), Notre Dame (2008, 09), and Florida State (2010, 11) in the last decade. Of the last six, the Lions earned an 87-85 win over Notre Dame on the road on Dec. 12, 2009. This will be the fifth of a six-game road swing for the Lions, who have played all but one game away from home this season. Pittsburgh will be hosting their sixth home game, having played the other three games in neutral sites on the east coast. Their average margin of victory this season has been just under 22 points per game.
INSIDE THE LIONS
LMU earned a 73-69 win on the road at UC Riverside on Monday to improve to 6-2 on the season, continuing their best start since the the 2006-07 season. The Lions improved to 2-0 in true road games this season and are 3-2 in neutral games, going 2-0 at the San Diego Classic to start the season and 1-2 prior to Thanksgiving at the 2013 Paradise Jam. Senior Anthony Ireland led the team in St. Thomas with 23 points per contest to earn Paradise Jam All-Tournament honors, one of six players named from the eight participating teams. He had three straight 20-point games, giving him 34 in his career.
The Lions' trip to Pittsburgh is part of a month-long road trip for the Lions that will see them travel more than 15,500 miles before returning home on Dec. 17. It started with a 7,543-mile swing to the Virgin Islands and continued on Monday with the shortest leg of the road trip, a 144-mile round trip to UC Riverside. Remaining are two of the longer legs, starting with a 4,298-mile road trip to Pitt. Following the week off for finals, the Lions will complete the road swing with a 3,564-mile road trip to face Valparaiso on Dec. 14. All told, the Lions will travel 15,843 for their non-conference portion of the schedule.
ON THE ROAD
Miles traveled in non-conference:
LMU to San Diego: 250
LMU to Long Beach St.: 44
Virgin Islands Paradise Jam: 7,543
LMU to UC Riverside 144
LMU to Pittsburgh : 4,298
LMU to Valparaiso: 3,564
Grand Total:15,843
Freshman Gabe Levin went for his third double-double in his young career with 13 points and 14 rebounds in the win over UC Riverside. He is one of just five freshman to have multiple double-doubles in their debut season (Kevin Young - 4 - `08-09; Orlando Johnson - 3 - `07-08; Andy Osborn - 3 - `01-02; Luther Philyaw - 2 - `72-73). He has grabbed 14 rebounds in a single game twice already this season, having done it in his second double-double with 10 points and 14 boards against NIU. He has also scored double figures in all eight of the games to start the season, tying him with Brandon Worthy for the second longest stretch by a freshman since 1986. He is now averaging of 12.8 ppg and 9.0 rpg entering the game against Pitt. As of Dec. 2, Levin is ranked fifth for freshman in the NCAA in rebounds and is ranked fourth overall within the WCC.
In three games at the Paradise Jam, senior Anthony Ireland finished averaging 23.0 points per contest, getting his 32nd career 20-point game with 24 against Northern Iowa on Friday, earning his 33rd with 25 in the win over Marist and then posting 20 on Monday night against Vanderbilt for his 34th. He finished averaging 3.7 assists with just 1.3 turnovers, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals. He also finished hitting 21-for-23 from the free throw line (91.3 percent). His start against UC Riverside was the 101st of his career, making him just the fourth player in LMU history to reach the century mark (joining Mark Armstrong - 109, Mike Yoest - 103, and Jim Williamson - 101). With 151 points, 41 assists and 16 steals to start the season, Ireland moved ahead of Jim Haderlein for seventh all-time in LMU history with 1,727 career points. He also moved to fifth with 425 career assists and seventh with 163 career steals.
Four Lions average double figures, led by senior Anthony Ireland at 18.9 ppg. The next three in double figures are all new to the Lions' line-up. Freshman Gabe Levin has scored double figures in his first eight games as a Lion. He is second on the team with 12.8 ppg, right ahead of fellow freshman Evan Payne, who is now averaging 12.4 ppg after scoring 12 against UC Riverside on Monday. Sophomore transfer Ben Dickinson (Binghamton) is fourth at 10.9 ppg. He leads all starters shooting 57.4 percent on the season from the field, ranking ninth in the WCC. Through eight games, the Lions are averaging 79.8 points per game. The last time the Lions averaged over 75 points a game in a season was in 2009-10 at 75.8 ppg. They averaged 75.9 in 1998-99, 79.0 in 1993-94, and 91.1 in 1991-92. The all-time record is 122.4 ppg in that 1989-90 Elite Eight season.
NOTES THROUGHOUT THE SEASON:
The Lions had three 20-point scorers in the win over South Dakota St., the first time that has happened since the record-setting LMU-USIU game on Jan. 5, 1991. Dickinson had 22 points while Ireland and Levin had 20 points each. The last time it happened, the Lions set the NCAA record for points in a 186-140 win. Five Lions went for more than 20 points (Terrell Lowery - 34, Richard Petruska - 28, Chris Knight - 27, Rahim Harris - 24, Ross Richardson - 24). Against Northern Arizona, the Lions had a pair of players with double-doubles. Anthony Ireland had 18 points and 10 assists for his sixth career double-double while freshman Gabe Levin had his first with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Lions finished the two games at the San Diego Classic shooting 52.1 percent, including 57.6 percent in the win on Saturday. It was the Lions' best shooting night from the field against an NCAA Division I opponent since hitting 59.3 percent against Seattle on Dec. 30, 2009. The Lions hit 57.7 percent against Pacifica in the opener last season. After shooting 37.7 percent against LBSU, the Lions hit 55.4 percent against Northern Arizona, including 65.6 percent in the second half. On the season, the Lions are hitting 45.6 percent from the field. The last time the Lions finished a season over 45 percent from the field as a team was in 2009-10, hitting 45.6 percent. They hit 46.4 percent in 1995-96, 47.7 in 1991-92 and 48.2 in 1990-91. The record is 51.9 percent in that very same 1989-90 season.
A Grand Finale: Senior Anthony Ireland enters his final season all over the record books at LMU with the projection to do even more. He enters the season as a Preseason All-WCC selection and is:
Ireland has not missed a game in his three-year career, playing in all 108 of the games LMU has played the last three-plus years. He earned his 100th start against Vanderbilt and has now started 101 in his career. He has done this while losing a tooth during a game, not missing a second in the process against Alaska-Anchorage; playing the season needing knee surgery as a junior; needing stitches in his lower lip during a game as a sophomore. He is at it again in 2013-14. As of Dec. 3, Ireland is fourth in the West Coast Conference in scoring (18.9 ppg), sixth in assists (5.1 apg), 13th in free throw percentage (83.0%), third in steals (2.0 spg), and fifth in minutes played (34.0 mpg). As the Lions' lone scoring threat in 2012-13, he was the target of opposing defenses who played aggressive against him, sending him to the line 203 times, ranked 12th all-time in LMU history. Entering the game against Pittsburgh, Ireland ranks sixth with 378 free throws made. Hank Gathers is fifth with 416. Mike Yoest is the all-time leader with 561 made free throws. Ireland was named LMU's first NABC All-District selection as a sophomore and was a Lou Henson Preseason All-American and honorable mention Jesuit All-American in 2011-12. He was named preseason All-American again this preseason. Entering Dec. 4, Ireland has played 2,787 of a possible 3,075 minutes (90.6 percent) since his sophomore season. He led the Lions in scoring in 30 of 34 games last season and has done it in six of the eight games this season.
The Lions had a season-high 20 offensive rebounds good for 23 second chance points in the win over UC Riverside. The Lions have had double-digit offensive rebounds in all eight games to start the season and lead the West Coast Conference with 14.4 per game. The Lions grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to cut a 23-point deficit to five against NIU, and against Long Beach State the Lions had 19 offensive boards and held a 45-30 edge on the glass. They used five of their 19 offensive rebounds in the final minute to get the win. Trailing by five with 1:04 to play, Evan Payne cut the lead to 73-70 and was fouled. He would miss the free throw, but fellow freshman Gabe Levin grabbed the offensive rebound to give the Lions the possession. After a timeout with 46.5 left, Payne missed a three-pointer but Chase Flint grabbed the offensive rebound. Ireland then missed with 16 seconds left but he would grab his own miss to keep possession yet again. After a timeout with 11 seconds left, the Lions ran a play for Levin who went in for a dunk. It was altered at the basket and lipped out. But yet again the Lions found the rebound. This time it was Dickinson, whose outback cut the lead to 73-72 with seven seconds left. LMU, who had pressed most of the game, pressured Caffey along the sideline and forced him to step on the line for the turnover. Ireland would take the inbound and was fouled by Caffey at about the same spot with 4.9 left. Ireland, who is sixth in the WCC in free throw percentage, drained both.
