Dec. 28, 2014 BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES -- Play within the West Coast Conference for 2014-15 has begun, and for LMU men's basketball it begins with the longest running series in program history. The Lions (4-8, 0-0) will face rival Pepperdine (7-4, 0-0) to start the WCC campaign for both teams on Monday, Dec. 29 at 6 pm. It will be the 161st meeting all-time between the two programs just 19 miles apart. The game is part of the annual Wells Fargo PCH Cup and can be seen on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet California and ROOT Sports Northwest. It can also be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and streamed on TheW.tv.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
THE VOICE: Ayodeji Egbeyemi has become the Lions captain and voice on the floor, and the three games in Hawaii saw him show that in numbers. He averaged 16.3 ppg, hitting 50 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. The LMU Sports Network caught up with the senior to talk about Hawaii, the team's progression so far this season and the start of WCC play. Egbeyemi has seven double-digit scoring games this season and enters WCC play averaging 10.0 ppg. He is shooting 81.3 percent from the charity stripe on the season, ranked 9th in the WCC, and has seven blocks with 3.8 rpg. He is second on the team with 27.8 minutes per contest after going for 32.0 mpg in Hawaii. The only person logging more minutes than that during the three Diamond Head Classic games was fellow senior Godwin Okonji. He scored 13 points and five rebounds in the win over DePaul and now leads the Lions with 6.1 rebounds per contest, ranking 12th in the WCC. His 28 offensive rebounds is 7th in the WCC. He also has three blocks, giving him 90 in his career. The total is fifth all-time in LMU history, two behind Ime Oduok's 92.
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions' record sits at 4-8 after going 1-2 at the 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The Lions fell to No. 11 Wichita State (80-53) and in overtime to Nebraska (50-42), and then ending the trip with a 72-69 win over DePaul. In the win over the Blue Demons, sophomore Evan Payne had 24 points for the Lions, his seventh 20-plus point game of the season and 13th of his career. Senior Ayodeji Egbeyemi equalled a career-high with 20 points and was the leader of the team during the tournament, averaging 16.3 points in the the three games. Payne averaged 15.3 in the tourament.
In falling to Nebraska in overtime, 50-42, the 50 points is the fewest allowed by the Lions since 49 by Seattle on Jan. 1, 2009. LMU's 42 points is the fewest since scoring 39 at Portland on Jan. 21, 2010. The score was tied at 35-35 after regulation. It is the lowest combined regulation score since the Lions defeated San Diego State 28-27 in the 1947-48 season. The 35 points is the lowest in regulation scored by the Lions since scoring 31 in a setback to UC Santa Barbara in the 1949-50 season and the 35 points allowed in regulation is the lowest since the Lions defeated San Diego 69-31 on Jan. 30, 1962. The Lions allowed Nebraska to score just 14 second half points, the lowest scoring half by an opponent since the Lions joined the West Coast Conference in 1957-58 (records can't be verified prior). The Lions scored 16 points in the first half, their lowest since scoring 14 in the second half of that game against Seattle in 2009. The Lions allowed Nebraska just four field goals in the second half, the lowest in at least 20 years (can't verify record prior).
THE LIONS REAL QUICK... Sophomore Evan Payne entered the week third in the West Coast Conference and 18th nationally (as of Dec. 28) in scoring and sits with 20.1 ppg after scoring 13th career 20-plus point game with 24 against DePaul. He was deadly efficient in the win, hitting 8-for-10 from the field, knocking down all three three-pointers. He has led the Lions in 11 of the 12 games this season, and had a career-best 32 against NAU, giving him seven 20-point games in the 12 games played so far in 2014-15. Also within the WCC, he ranks 11th in free throw percentage (80.0) and 12th in three-pointers made... Senior Ayodeji Egbeyemi has had his three best games of the season in Hawaii, scoring 13 against Wichita State, leading the Lions with a then season-high 16 points against Nebraska and concluding with a career-equalling 20 points against DePaul. He hit 6-for-12 from the field, 8-for-9 from the charity stripe and is second on the team with 10 ppg... The Lions continue to be tough around the rim, ranking second in the WCC in blocked shots. They have 45 blocks as a team and are now averaging 3.8 per game after going without a block for the first time on the season agaisnt the Huskers. Three Lions ranked in the top-15 within the WCC. Junior Marin Mornar equalled a career-high with five blocks against UC Riverside. He had two more on Monday and has 20 on the season and is averaging 1.67 per game, ranking second in the WCC. Patson Siame ranked at seventh, is averaging 0.83 per game, while Ayodeji Egbeyemi is 14th with 0.58 bpg... Mornar now has 66 blocks in his career, good for a tie for 9th all-time with Robin Kirksey (1991-95), Mike Yoest (1984-88) and Hank Gathers (1987-90). Wyking Jones (1991-95) is eighth with 72. Senior Godwin Okonji has 91 in his career, ranking 5th all-time and one behind Ime Oduok (1993-96)... The Lions 52.8 percent shooting in the opener was the best since hitting 55.4 percent against NAU on Nov. 17, 2013 and the 28.0 percent against Nebraska was the lowest since hitting 25 percent against seventh-ranked Gonzaga on Jan. 31, 2013... Okonji had his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Boise State. He has played in 107 career games, while fellow senior Ayodeji Egbeyemi played in his 103rd game... Against Nebraska, the Lions outrebounded the Huskers 40-22, including a 16-2 edge on the offensive glass. In the win over DePaul, they had a 35-22 edge on the glass. It balanced the turnover edge. Nebraska forced the Lions into 20 turnovers to just 13 for them, while against DePaul the Lions had 17 to the Blue Demons' 13. In the final two games in Hawaii, the Lions had a +31 edge on the glass (+15.5 pg). As for turnovers, they have been LMU's achilles heal. In the last six games, the Lions have committed 102 turnovers to their opponent's 64, that is 17.0 to 10.7 per game. It has led to a 113-75 edge in points off turnovers. In the game against Nebraska, neither team could not make the best of their advantage, as the Lions held just a 4-0 edge in second chance points and both teams scored 10 points off turnovers. Against DePaul, the Lions held the edge in points off turnivers at 22-20, and despite having 11 ORB to 7 for DePaul, trailed in second chance points, 12-9.
THE SERIES: This will be the 161st meeting between LMU and Pepperdine, a series that began in 1941 with the Lions winning 30-18. Since the teams joined the WCC together in the 1957-58 season, they have met to open conference play eight previous seasons. They have split those eight meeting, 4-4. The Lions won the first four, all at home in 1964, `66, `67 and `69. Pepperdine has won the last four, the first coming at LMU in 1985, and the remaining three, 1992, 2009 and 2010, at Pepperdine. In the series overall, the Waves have won the last four meetings with the previous three going to the Lions. Pepperdine enters the match-up at 7-4 overall, falling to Richmond, 65-63, on Dec. 20 and then to IUPUI in Malibu on Saturday, 55-53. Stacy Davis leads the Waves with 15.6 ppg and 8.7 rpg.
WELLS FARGO PCH CUP: Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime crosstown adversaries LMU and Pepperdine have come together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Wells Fargo Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cup. The series serves as an annual scorecard for the NCAA-sponsored athletic contests between the Lions and Waves, and challenges each institution to rise above the other within the West Coast Conference. LMU and Pepperdine are represented by 13 of their intercollegiate athletic teams through both regular and postseason competitions over the course of the academic calendar. One point is awarded for both home and neutral-site wins, including conference championships; however, 1.5 points is earned for road victories. The university with the highest point total accumulated throughout the year will be named PCH Cup champion and awarded the PCH Cup.
Senior Leadership: The Lions, with 11 newcomers on the roster, 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 107 and 103 games, respectively, at LMU. Both were expected to be mainstays in the starting line-up a year ago before their medical redshirts and enter the game against Pepperdine with a combined 151 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.
