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LOS ANGELES -- The start of the 2014-15 season for the LMU men's basketball program and the Mike Dunlap era begins with the 2014 LMU CLassic presented by the Office of International Students and Scholars. The tournament opens with San Diego taking on Boise State at 3:30 pm, followed the season opener for the Lions against SE Missouri State at 6 pm. Both games will be live on the LMU Sports Network and all of LMU's games this season can be heard live on KXLU 88.89 FM.

Seniors Godwin Okonji, Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Chase Flint have been asked to take leadership roles, one they are excited about and honored to have the opportunity. The three seniors sat down with LMU Sports Network to talk about the new season, returning with another chance to play after injuries, the hard work they are learning it takes to be leaders and to be success, team chemistry and their top priority - to win as a team.

LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:

LMU Classic presented by Office of International Students and Scholars
The Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) presents the 2014 LMU Classic as part of the month long celebration of WorldFest 2014. Come out and support the Lions with players representing Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Nigeria, Slovakia, Zambia, and - of course - the United States. Check out what is on tap as the Lions' tip-off the Mike Dunlap era:

THE LMU CLASSIC • A quick look at the Classic: The Lions will host the 2014 LMU Classic with San Diego, Boise State and SE Missouri State. San Diego hosted a similar tournament a year ago with the Lions and both came out with a pair of wins. Here is a quick look at the field:
• San Diego - The Toreros finished 2013-14 at 18-17 overall and 7-11 in the WCC, tied for sixth with Portland. They return four starters, three of which averaged more than 10 points per game. Senior guards Johnny Dee and Christopher Anderson provided a one-two punch for the Toreros in the WCC a year ago, averaging 16.6 ppg and 6.2 assists per game, respectively. Dee led the nation in free thorw shooting last season, hitting 120-for-127 (94.5 percent).
• SE Missouri St. - The Redhawks finished the 2013-14 season at 18-14 overall and 8-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference, good for sixth overall and second in the west division. They return three starters and nine letterwinners from last year's team, including senior Jarekious Bradley. He is an OVC Preseason Player of the Year candidate after earning first-team All-District honors a year ago, ranking second on the team with 19.0 ppg and 6.3 rpg.
• Boise State - The Broncos have been picked by many to challenge San Diego State in the tough Mountain West Conference. They return three starters and eight letterwinners from a team that went 21-13 overall and 9-9 in the MWC, good for a tie at fifth. All-Mountain West Conference selections Anthony Drmic (15.9 ppg) and Derrick Marks (14.9) ppg lead the way for a roster that six seniors and two redshirt juniors.

INSIDE THE LIONS
• On March 12, 2014, Mike Dunlap returned home, coming back to his alma mater as the 26th head coach of the LMU men's basketball program. In less than four months, the Lions had a new roster that included seven newcomers, just three players that played more than seven games together, 13 players from eight different countries and a coaching staff with over 70 years of combined head coaching experience at every level of basketball.

• To get a jump start on the 2014-15 season, Dunlap and the Lions found a way to organize a 12-day training trip to Spain. The trip included a grueling training schedule before and during the trip, three games against local all-star teams and a fourth against the Angola National Team, who was training for the World Cup later that month. The result has the Lions coming together heading into the new season. With four walk-ons joining the roster in September, the Lions have 11 of 17 players who were not in LMU uniforms a year ago. An additional three - Ayodeji Egbeyemi, Godwin Okonji and Patson Siame - served sat out a year ago, giving them 14 of 17 players that did not see action a year ago (Egbeyemi played eight games before serving medical redshirt year). With youth everywhere on the roster, the Lions will lean on fifth-year seniors Egbeyemi, Okonji and Chase Flint to lead them on the mission of coming together each day throughout the 2014-15 season under the experienced staff led by one of LMU's own in Dunlap.

• The international flavor of LMU's roster includes Australia (Joshua Spiers, David Humphries), Slovakia (Simon Krajcovic), Czech Republic (Petr Herman), Zambia (Patson Siame), Nigeria (Godwin Okonji, Ayodeji Egbeyemi) and Croatia (Marin Mornar). The LMU Sports Network took a look at the vast differences of the Lions' roster through language.

• Senior Leadership: The Lions, with 11 newcomers on the roster, will lean heavily on an experienced trio of seniors. Both Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi are coming off medical redshirt seasons and will play their fifth season in 2014-15. The two have played in 96 and 91 games, respectively, at LMU. Both were expected to be mainstays in the starting line-up a year ago and enter the game with a combined 131 starts among them. Joining them is senior Chase Flint. He, along with Egbeyemi, have already earned their Bachelor degrees and both are in master programs at LMU. Egbeyemi is the MBA program while Flint is in the Elementary Education program. Flint has played in 42 games at LMU after coming from Eastern Utah College in 2012.

• Three players return from last year's roster that saw action for the length of the season. The senior Flint along with junior Marin Mornar and freshman Even Payne. Mornar ranked 10th in LMU program history with 36 blocks on the season, giving him 46 in his career, which is ranked 23rd all-time. Mornar has played in 54 games as a Lion and averaged 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds a year ago. He ranked sixth in the WCC last year at 1.1 blocks per contest. As for Payne, he set the LMU freshman record a year ago with 497 points in playing every game. His 15.5 points a year ago - an LMU freshman record - ranked seventh in the WCC.

• For the fourth time in seven years the Lions will open the season playing in a tournament, the first time at home. The Lions are 37-21 in season openers since they joined the West Coast Conference in 1955-56. They opened 2008 in the BTI Invitational at Iowa State, the 2009 season was started at Montana's Grizzly Classic and 2013 was started at this same tournament hosted by San Diego. LMU will play in a pair of non-conference tournaments this season, making it 14 straight years the Lions have made an apperance in a regular season tournament. LMU will also play in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22-25. Mike Dunlap is 8-6 all-time in openers as a college coach.

• Exhibition: LMU men's basketball erased a 14-point deficit to earn a 68-67 win over UC San Diego in the lone exhibition game to start the 2014-15 season and the tenure of Head Coach Mike Dunlap at Gersten Pavilion on Nov. 6. The Lions trailed by 14 midway through the first half but erased the lead thanks to 55.6 percent shooting in the opening frame and 51 percent shooting on the night. The Lions showed the team-first philosophy on offense by hitting 25 field goals with 18 assists. "We found something that really worked and we stayed with it," said Dunlap. "The plan was to go through the middle. I love the we part of our our offense tonight. We want to continue to enjoy the we part in playing offense together." The Lions outscored the Tritons 35-12 in the paint and got 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting from senior Godwin Okonji. He added seven rebounds and five assist with a steal before fouling out. Transfer David Humprhies led the Lions with 23 points, hitting 7-for-15 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. Senior Ayodeji Egbeyemi added 15 points. The Lions finished the game out rebounding the Tritons 39-25 and had a 15-7 edge in second chance points.