Feb. 28, 2014
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LOS ANGELES -- Combined seniors Anthony Ireland and Alex Osborne have played 251 games as LMU Lions, on Saturday they will add the final two from Gersten Pavilion as the Lions host San Francisco in the home finale. The duo have played more games than any players in LMU history and they will say farewell to Gersten Pavilion on Senior Day with tip-off set at 7 pm. The game will be aired live on TheW.tv and can be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
INSIDE THE LIONS
• The 2013-14 regular season will come to a close on Saturday as the Lions take on the Dons. All 10 teams are in action within the WCC and the LMU-USF match-up and Gonzaga-Saint Mary's will close the season as the final games of the day. The Lions began the finale homestand of the season with a 75-71 win over Santa Clara. Freshman Evan Payne set a freshman record with his sixth 20-point game of the season, tying his career-high with 27 points on 11-for-17 shooting. It is the fourth-best scoring game by a freshman. Senior Anthony Ireland had his 43rd 20-point game, going for 20 for the fifth straight game against Santa Clara. He played all 40 minutes and he has played 123 straight minutes, last coming out of a game against Portland on Feb. 13. He has played all 40 minutes the last three games.
• It's the final home game in the stellar career of Anthony Ireland, who is ranked in the top-10 all-time in LMU history in 14 of the 23 career statistical categories. Come celebrate one of the best players in LMU history with a special "2,000 and Counting" T-Shirt giveaway for students. It is also Young Alum "Return to the Student Section" Night. Special $5 tickets are available for alums within the last 10 years. For more information, visit LMULions.com/Tickets.
• Senior Anthony Ireland continues to pace the Lions in all areas of the floor, putting the final marks on his record-setting career and cementing himself even more in the LMU record book. He has not missed a game in his career, playing in his school record 129th against Santa Clara while earning his 122nd start, also a record. With the limited roster, Ireland has played the full 40 minute they last three games Ireland is the only Lion in LMU history with at least 2,000 career points, 500 career rebounds, 500 career assists and 150 career steals. He is the only active player in the NCAA to have hit those milestones and there are only three active players in Division I basketball (Kendall Williams - New Mexico; Chaz Williams - UMass; Shabazz Napier - UConn) to have 1,500 points, 500 assists and 150 steals. As of Feb. 27 he is second in the league at 18.9 ppg (58th nationally), second in assists at 5.34 (41st nationally) and second in steals at 1.66. With 547 points (ranked 39th in the NCAA as of Feb. 27), 155 assists (ranked 33rd) and 48 steals (ranked 83rd) in 2013-14, Ireland now ranks third in points with 2,123, third in assists with 539 and second in steals at 195.
• Freshman Evan Payne scored 27 points for the second time in his rookie campaign, adding to his all-time freshman scoring record with 450 points. It was his 23rd double-digit scoring game of the season, also a freshman record, and his sixth 20-point game, equalling a record shared by three players. The 27 points he scored Thursday and in the first meeting against BYU is tied for the fourth best by a freshman in LMU History and his 25 is tied for ninth. The BYU game was the first of conference, making the point total the most ever by an LMU freshman in his first WCC game and the third-most by an LMU player in his conference debut. He is just the second freshman in LMU history to go over 400 and his 15.5 ppg is ranked eighth in the WCC and is on pace to set the LMU freshman record for ppg in a season. He is also ranked 8th in the WCC in free throw percentage (84.3%) and 10th in steals (1.2 spg), grabbing four against Santa Clara Thursday. His 36 steals is ranked fourth for a freshman at LMU all-time.
• Freshman Gabe Levin went for his freshman record fifth double-double against Pacific on Jan. 23 with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He is one of just five freshman to have multiple double-doubles in their debut season at LMU. He has grabbed 14 rebounds in a single game three times this season. Heading into the game against San Francisco, Levin has 189 rebounds and is ranked second all-time for a freshman. In addition, he has 30 blocks on the year, ranking 13th in LMU history for blocks in a season by any player, and his 1.1 bpg is ranked 6th within the WCC this season. His rebound average of 7.0 is ranked ninth in the WCC and would also rank second for rebounds per game in a season for a freshman at LMU.
• The Lions enter the week second behind Pacific in the WCC and 8th in the NCAA (as of Feb. 27) hitting 76.2 percent on the season from the free throw line, going 23-for-28 against the Broncos (82.1%). The Lions with 17-for-19 against Gonzaga as Anthony Ireland hit 10-for-11. The Lions hit season-high 31-for-37 effort against Pacific (the most since going 32-for-40 against CS Fullerton in the CIT on Mar. 14, 2012). The all-time program record is 77.7 percent sent in the 2001-02 season.
• The Lions have had more turnovers than their opponents just seven times in 29 games this season, giving it away just seven times to open WCC play against the Cougars and then a season-low six in the win over Pacific on Jan. 23 (the fewest since five against Portland Jan. 12, 2013). They matched the season low with six against Pepperdine on Feb. 20. The Lions are averaging just 12.34 turnovers per game this season while leading the league in steals at 7.2 per game. LMU ranks third in the WCC in turnover margin at +1.38. LMU had seven steals against Santa Clara on Thursday, forcing them into 20 turnovers, nearly 11 over their average coming into the game. They finished with a 23-15 edge in points off turnovers. The Lions have averaged under 13 turnovers a game just twice in program history. They averaged just 12.97 in 2009-10 and set the record in 1983-84 at 11.98 per game.
• LMU has stayed aggressive despite the depleted roster, heading into the week the Lions are one of the best in the WCC in getting And-1 opportunities. Freshman Evan Payne leads the WCC in completing 16 And-1 chances (basket and made free throw). Anthony Ireland is fourth on that list with 12. As a team, the Lions have hit 50 heading into the weekend.
• While Ireland has been a mainstay in the Lions' line-up the last four seasons, playing short-handed is nothing new for the Lions in the six seasons under Head Coach Max Good. The Lions enter the Santa Clara game with just seven scholarship players. Junior Chase Flint, who had played in 42 games as a Lion with 24 starts, suffered a broken elbow against Portland on Jan. 16 and is out the rest of the season. He is the third former starter to be lost for the season in 2013-14 due to injury. Combined with freshman Patson Siame's year of residency, the Lions will play this weekend with just seven scholarship players. It has shown up the last two games for the Lions as Anthony Ireland has played 123 straight minutes, not coming out in the last two games. In addition, the Lions' opponents have held a 109-14 edge in points off the bench the last three contests.
• Entering the San Francisco game, key players have missed 63 games this season due to injury, including Flint's 11 games, Godwin Okonji (leg suffered in car accident prior to practice on Oct. 20, see LMULions.com for more) for the entire season (29 games) and senior Ayodeji Egbeyemi (hip) the last 21 games. The two seniors will look to apply for a medical redshirt and the end of the season. Freshman Gabe Levin also missed two games with a shoulder injury. The Lions have had nine starting line-ups this year, second only to Good's first season in 2008-09 for fewest line-ups. A year ago the Lions had 10 different starting line-ups as key players missed 30 games. In 2011-12 when they won 21 games, the Lions featured 11 starting line-ups but had key players miss just 25 games, the fewest in Good's tenure. In 2010-11 they had 15 line-ups with players missing 63 games. In 2009-10 in which the Lions had 18 wins, they had 10 line-ups with the second fewest missed games, 26. And in his first season, the Lions were down to six scholarship players at one point and key players missed 68 games. Other impacts on the roster this season have included freshman Nino Jackson, who has been out after a severe ankle sprain prior to the game against UC Riverside on Dec. 2, withdrawing from the University and is no longer with the program due to personal reasons. Sophomore transfer Ben Dickinson missed the game on Jan. 18 against Gonzaga and also remains out indefinitely for personal reasons.
• Alex Osborne wraps up a blue-collar type career. He played in his 122nd game against Santa Clara, good for second all-time behind teammate Anthony Ireland. And as his career wraps-up, Osborne scored 20 points with 17 rebounds, eight of which were offensive, in the win over La Sierra. It was the first 15-15 game by a Lion since Dec. 28, 2009. He went 8-for-10 from the field, had two assists, two steals and a block in the win. Osborne has 114 career steals and is tied for 17th all-time in LMU history.
• A Grand Finale: Senior Anthony Ireland wraps up his final season all over the record books at LMU and has turned some heads in the process, take a look
Ireland has not missed a game and not one day of practice in his three-year career, playing in nearly 89 percent of the available minutes the last four seasons. LMU has played 5,095 minutes since Ireland joined the program. He has played in 4,530 of them. 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 the seventh player in WCC history to reach 2,000 points in his career, joining four other Lions on that list. He is the only one to not have played at some point with Paul Westhead. As of Feb. 27, here is where he ranks all-time in LMU history:
| Category | Rank (stat) | Category | Rank (stat) |
| Total Points: | 3rd (2,123) | Points Per Game: | 15th (16.5 ppg) |
| Field Goals Made: | 6th (722) | Field Goals Attempted: | 3rd (1,731) |
| 3PT FGs Made: | 4th (192) | 3PT FGs Attempted: | 3rd (551) |
| 3PT FG PCT: | 21st (.348) | FTs Made: | 3rd (487) |
| FTs Attempted: | 4th (612) | FT PCT: | 21st (.796) |
| Rebounds: | 24th (507) | Assists: | 3rd (539) |
| Assists Per Game: | 10th (4.2 apg) | Steals: | 2nd (195) |
| Steals Per Game: | 14th (1.5 spg) | Games Played: | 1st (129) |
| Games Started: | 1st (122) | Minutes: | 1st (4,538) |
