Nov. 28, 2014 BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES -- A busy stretch during the Thanksgiving holiday week will come to a close on Saturday, Nov. 29, as will LMU's non-conference home schedule, when the Lions host UC Irvine at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions (3-2) will finish a stretch of three games in seven days while the Anteaters (2-2) will play their first game in a week. Tip-off is set for 8 pm and the game will be broadcast live on LMU Sports Network and on KXLU 88.9 FM.
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INSIDE THE LIONS •
BUSY HOLIDAY WEEK: The Lions wrap-up a busy stretch of five games in less than two weeks heading into finals week and the Lions end a three-game homestand with the Anteaters. That game is part of a tripleheader of basketball as the women's program hosts the final day of the Doubletree LA Westside Thankgiving Classic at 1 and 3:30 pm that afternoon. Tickets to all the action can be found at LMULions.com/Tickets.
• Block Party: Bring your friends and neighbors to the LMU men's basketball game on Saturday, November 29th at 8:00 pm against UC Irvine for your chance to win a block party for your block! Whichever residential block turns out the largest crowd (minimum of 10 people, including guests of your home) will win a block party courtesy of LMU. We'll work with you and neighbors to organize an afternoon of fun. Tickets are discounted: Adults $5 / Children $1. If you purchase your tickets online using discount code BLOCKPARTY14, you'll receive an additional $2 discount on each adult ticket. That's just $3! For more information, visit community.lmu.edu
• The Lions improved to 3-2 overall and 3-1 at home with a 66-62 win over UC Riverside on Wednesday. The Lions finished the game hitting 26-for-30 from the free throw line and moved their season average to 76.7 percent. As of Nov. 27, the Lions are tops in the WCC and 17th in the nation in hitting 79-of-103 free throws. Evan Payne hit 15-of-16 from the line against the Highlanders and his 33 made free throws this season is ranked 11th in the nation. His 15 free throws made in a single game is the most since Brandon Worthy hit 15-for-21 against Pepperdine on Feb. 11, 2006. Ayodeji Egbeyemi is ranked fifth in the WCC at 87.0 percent, Payne at ninth hitting 82.5 percent and Marin Mornar is 13th, hitting 78.6 percent.
• This will be the 22nd meeting between the Lions and UC Irvine. The series has been nearly even as LMU holds a slim 11-10 edge overall, with the teams splitting the meetings at each venue. The series is even at 5-5 at LMU, 4-4 in Irvine and LMU holds a 2-1 edge on neutral floors. The last meeting came on Dec. 30, 2010 as the Lions claimed an 87-80 road win. Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi played in the game, going for four and three points, respectively. The Lions had five players in double figures and a pair with 20 or more as Drew Viney had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Lions shot 55.6 percent from the field while UCI went 39.7 percent.
• Real quick... Godwin Okonji played in his 101st career game against UC Riverside... Junior Marin Mornar equalled a career-high with five blocks against UC Riverside. He has 11 on the season and is averaging 2.20 per game, ranking second in the WCC... The Lions have 22 blocks as a team, averaging 4.4 per game. They are tops in the WCC and Patson Siame joins his teammate in the rankings at third, averaging 1.2 per game. Mornar now has 57 blocks in his career, tied for 15th all-time with Ashley Hamilton (2008-13)... Mornar and Siame are in the top-10 within the WCC in another category, leading the Lions in shooting percentage. Siame is 8th, hitting 63.0 percent, while Mornar is 10th at 57.7 percent... The Lions 52.8 percent shooting in the opener was the best since hiting 55.4 percent against Northern Arizona on Nov. 17, 2013 and the 28.1 percent against ASU was the lowest since hitting 25 percent against seventh-ranked Gonzaga on Jan. 31, 2013... Evan Payne was the first player to score 22 or more in the first two games of the season since Jeff Fryer did it in November of 1989 with 23 against UNLV and 26 against Nevada. He had his 10th career 20-point game with 25 against UC Riverside, giving him four 20-point games in the five games played so far in 2014-15. He is currently third in the WCC in scoring at 21.4 and 17th in the nation (as of Nov. 27)... Godwin Okonji had his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Boise State.
• 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 101 and 96 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 141 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. All three have made an impact in the first five games. They all have started every game so far. The point guard Flint leads the team with 16 assists, ranking 15th in the WCC with 3.2 apg. He is also fifth in the WCC with 1.8 steals and fifth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.67. Egbeyemi has had three double-digit scoring games this season and has led the Lions at the charity stripe, ranking fifth in the WCC at 87.0 percent (20-for-23). As for Okonji, he leads the Lions with 6.6 rebounds per contest, ranking 12th in the WCC. His 14 offensive rebounds is fifth in the WCC.
• 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 sophomore Even Payne. Mornar ranked 10th in LMU program history with 36 blocks last season, and with the nine in the last two games moved that total to 57. He trails Christian Scott (1990-93) for 14th by three. Mornar has played in 57 games as a Lion and averaged 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds a year ago. So far this season he is fouirth on the team with 8.4 points per game, grabbing 3.8 rebounds with the 11 blocks. He is hitting 57.7 percent from the field and 78.6 percent from the free throw line. 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. He continued where he left off from his freshman record 497 points a year ago by scoring 107 in his first five games this season. He is 13th in the WCC with eight three-pointers and is hitting 45.2 percent from the field.
