Dec. 11, 2014 BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES -- With 10 days off for finals week, the LMU men's basketball team resumes play with a trip to Flagstaff, Ariz., to face Northern Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 13. Both teams haven't played since Dec. 3 when the Lions (3-4) fell at USC, 77-61, while the Lumberjacks (2-6) fell 88-83 in overtime to UT-San Antonio. Tip-off is set for 1 pm and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions' record sits at 3-4 overall after the setback to USC on Wednesday, Dec. 3. The Lions continue a six-game swing away from home as they wrap-up non-conference play. LMU struggled from the field for the second straight road game, hitting 36.8 percent at the Galen Center. They shot just 28.1 percent at Arizona State on Nov. 20. However, it was turnovers that hurt the Lions as they committed 16, leading to 19 USC points. Sophomore Evan Payne led the Lions in scoring for the sixth straight game with 19 points, hitting 7-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 from three. LMU hit 7-for-17 from three (41.2 percent). The Lions have hit 15-for-37 from long range the last two games (40.5 percent).
This will be the 11th meeting between LMU and Northern Arizona (the Lions lead 8-2). The Lumberjacks (2-6) are 1-1 at home this season, as they host LMU in their second straight game at the Walkup Skydome. The last time NAU and LMU played in Flagstaff, the Lions earned a 92-86 overtime victory over the Lumberjacks in 2012. This is the fourth straight season that the two programs will meet. The game will not be televised, but fans can listen on KLXU 88.9 FM or on KXLU.com. Watch at www.WatchBigSky.com for live video.
THE LIONS REAL QUICK... Sophomore Evan Payne is third in the West Coast Conference (as of Dec. 9) at 21.3 points per contest, ranking 11th nationally. He has led the Lions in all seven games this season, and 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 11th career 20-point game with 23 against UC Irvine, giving him five 20-point games in the seven games played so far in 2014-15... freshman Simon Krajcovic came off the bench to score a career-best 12 points and post the most assists by a freshman since 2002 with nine against UC Irvine on Nov. 29. He had no turnovers and did it in 18 minutes, adding four rebounds and two steals to go with 5-for-8 shooting. He was the only other Lion to lead the team in scoring, tying Payne with nine points at Arizona State... The Lions have 33 blocks as a team after earning seven against USC. They are averaging 4.7 per game, tops in the WCC and 67th nationally. Three Lions are in the top-10 within the WCC. Junior Marin Mornar equalled a career-high with five blocks against UC Riverside. He has 14 on the season and is averaging 2.0 per game, ranking second in the WCC. Patson Siame is ranked at fourth, averaging 1.3 per game, while Ayodeji Egbeyemi is sixth with 0.9 bpg... Mornar now has 60 blocks in his career, tying Christian Scott (1990-93) for 14th all-time... Siame is also in the top-10 in field goal percentage within the WCC, ranking 10th at 53.3 percent. He also had his first double-digit rebounding performance with 10 against the Anteaters... The Lions 52.8 percent shooting in the opener was the best since hitting 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... Godwin Okonji had his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Boise State.
QUICK LOOK AT NAU... Head coach Jack Murphy enters his third season at NAU with a 28-44 overall record and 30-30 Big Sky mark... Five different Lumberjacks have scored in double figures for NAU this season...Quinton Upshur leads NAU with 13.9 points per game, while Aaseem Dixon is averaging 12.4 ppg... Senior center Len Springs recorded 58 blocked shots last season to lead the Big Sky. It tied for the third-most in a single season by an NAU player. He currently has 14 so far this season... NAU had a 2013-14 home record of 9-4. The Lumberjacks are currently 1-1 at home and 1-5 on the road. NAU's last non-conference road win was on Nov. 28, 2014 versus Southern. NAU's last non-conference home win was on Nov. 20, 2014 in a 73-52 rout over Fresno 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 are in their fifth season in 2014-15. The two have played in 103 and 98 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 143 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. Flint ranks 10th in the WCC with 1.3 steals per game, leading the Lions with nine on the season. Egbeyemi has had four double-digit scoring games this season and has led the Lions at the charity stripe, ranking sixth in the WCC at 84.6 percent (22-for-26). He also ranks sixth in the league in blocks. As for Okonji, he leads the Lions with 6.1 rebounds per contest, ranking 12th in the WCC. His 21 offensive rebounds is third in the WCC, grabbing six against USC to give him seven points and seven rebounds against the Trojans on the night.
After going nearly two years without game action due to taking a medical redshirt, fifth-year senior Godwin Okonji returned in a big way. The forward from Nigeria had his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, adding three assists and a steal against Boise State. He has played in 101 games as a Lion and has become one of the senior captains this season. He went 6-for-11 from the field against the Broncos and five of his 10 rebounds were offensive. He also added a block to his resume in the season opening win over SE Missouri State on Friday, giving him 89 in his career. The total is fifth all-time in LMU history, three behind Ime Oduok's 92.
The other two returning players from the Lions' roster last year are having a big impact, as mentioned earlier. Sophomore Evan Payne has put up the points, running his career total to 646 in 36 games (16.6 ppg in his career). He trails BYU's Tyler Haws (24.4 ppg) and SMC's Brad Waldow (22.8) in the WCC. He is also 15th in free throw percentage, hitting 41-for-52 (78.8 percent) and 13th in three-pointers made at 1.7. Junior Marin Mornar has also been improving on his career numbers. He leads the Lions with 54.5 percent shooting from the field, scoring 7.0 points per game. He has a block in six of the Lions' seven games and has 12 in the last four to sit second in the WCC with 14.
THE NEWCOMERS: With so many new faces, the Lions will rely on its youth to step-up throughout the season. And they have. Here is a look at some of the highlights from newcomers through six games... Sophomore Matt Hayes, a transfer from Santa Rosa JC, is second on the team with 11 three-pointers, hitting 44.0 percent on the season. He is second on the team in scoring at 8.6 ppg and would rank in the top-10 within the WCC in three-pointers per game, but has not played 75 percent of the games this season... Patson Siame, in his first season after a year off to establish residency in 2013-14, is fourth in the WCC in blocks with nine, adding 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. He had nine points and 10 rebounds Nov. 29 against UC Irvine and then played a career-best 32 minutes against USC, going for six points, seven rebounds and two blocks... Freshman Simon Krajcovic did not play the first two games, but in game three came off the bench to lead the Lions with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals against Arizona State. Against UCI, he had 12 points with nine assists, no turnovers, four rebounds and two steals in just 18 minutes. It was the most assists by a freshman since Wes Wardrop had nine his rookie season in 2002. Krajcovic leads the Lions with 4.40 assists per contest, dishing out 22 in five games. He would rank 8th in the WCC, but has not played in 75 percent of the games this season.
