Jan. 30, 2015 BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
STOCKTON, Calif. -- LMU men's basketball will bring to a close its four-game, two-week Bay Area road trip when they head to Pacific for the WCC Game of the Week on Saturday, Jan. 31. The Lions (6-16, 2-8) are coming off a tough 68-54 setback to Saint Mary's while the Tigers fell to Pepperdine 50-43 at home on Thursday. The coverage will start with This Week in the WCC on Time Warner Cable SportsNet at 12:30 followed by tip-off at 1 pm. The game is on all the WCC Regional Networks and can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions' record sits at 6-16 and 2-8 after splitting their last two, defeating USF at the buzzer, 70-69, on Jan. 24 before falling to Saint Mary's Thursday night, 68-54. Senior Godwin Okonji continues impressive stretch during senior season, leading Lions in scoring for the first time with 14 points and four rebounds against the Gaels. He held the WCC's second best scorer and best rebounder, six points and four rebounds below his average.
Okonji, who has 13 offensive rebounds in the three games and has averaged just under five per game the last four games, is tied for the top spot in the WCC with 65 total (3.1 per game). He is ranked ninth in the conference in rebounding overall at 6.0 rpg, and is eighth with 27 steals (1.3 spg), grabbing three against Saint Mary's Thursday.
The Lions have found some rhythm on offense, going for 98 assists in the last six games, including 20 assists on 22 field goals against SMC. Through 12 non-conference games, the Lions averaged 10.8 apg, while in WCC play they have risen that to 14.0 apg, going for 15.8 apg the last four games. The Lions had 14 assists and a season-equalling low of six turnovers against the Broncos and then went for 17 assists and just 10 turnovers in the win over USF Saturday. In the last four games they have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8 as compared to their season ratio of 0.8.
Leading the charge has been senior Chase Flint, who has 54 assists and just 11 turnovers the last seven games. He had eight assists and just one turnover at Santa Clara and then went for nine assists and no turnovers at USF. He is second in the WCC overall with a 3.1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranked 18th nationally heading into the game against Pacific.
Junior Marin Mornar had his second double-double at Santa Clara, going for a career-best 22 points and 11 rebounds. He has set career-highs in three of the last four games, hitting 8-for-14 from the field in 32 minutes against the Broncos. He equalled a career-best with 11 rebounds at USF and in the last four games he is averaging 11.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg.
THE LIONS REAL QUICK
Senior Chase Flint has a career 2.77 assist-to-turnover ratio, jumping nearly two-tenths in the last month. He re-entered the starting line-up on Jan. 8 and he has posted 54 of his 79 assists this season in the last eight games, including a career-best nine at USF. He has just 25 turnovers on the season, good for a 3.12 assist-to-turnover average entering the game against Pacific. He has 56 assists in the 10 conference games, ranking tied for second at 5.6 assists per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio is ranked second, trailing only Kevin Pangos. In all games, his 3.55 assists per game is ranked 10th.
Junior Marin Mornar is averaging 11.3 ppg and 6.6 rpg while shooting 50 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line in the 10 WCC games. He is ranked 7th overall in the league shooting 52.9 percent while in WCC games he is ranked 21st in scoring, 6th in rebounding (6.6), 8th in field goal percentage (50%) and 9th in the league in free throw shooting.
The Lions continue to be tough around the rim, ranking third in the WCC in blocked shots. They have 78 blocks as a team and are now averaging 3.55 per game. Junior Marin Mornar has 35 on the season, an average of 1.59 per game, ranking second in the WCC. Mornar now has 81 blocks in his career, good for 7th all-time. His season total of 35 is 12th all-time at LMU. Senior Godwin Okonji added another to his resume at Santa Clara. He has 92 in his career, equalling Ime Oduok (1993-96) for 4th all-time in LMU history.
In the win over the Pilots, the Lions held the Pilots to 39.4 percent shooting, the fifth time this season an opponent has been under 40 percent. The Lions' defense hasn't done that since the 2011-12 season (14 times). Against, BYU, the Lions had five players in double figures for the first time in over a year and finished with a season-best 18 assists (against D-I opponent). They finished shooting 7-for-14 from three against the Cougars, which was a season best until the Lions hit 8-for-12 against the Pilots (66.7 percent). It is the best percentage since hitting 10-for-15 in the win over No. 17 UCLA on Nov. 11, 2011.
ON THE GLASS
The Lions have been outrebounded by only Saint Mary's in WCC play and in the last 12 games the Lions hold a +3.9 (393 to 346) rebound margin. On Jan. 17 against #3 Gonzaga, the Lions outrebounded the best in the WCC, 38-33, going for 19 offensive rebounds. The Lions held a 26-24 edge on the Broncos, getting five of their eight offensive rebounds from Godwin Okonji. At USF, the Lions held a 38-37 edge on the glass, grabbing 15 offensive boards to USF's 10. Okonji had six of his eight rebounds on the offensive side. It helped the Lions attempt 12 more shots than USF and gave them an edge in second-chance points, going 16-2 against the Waves and 19-10 at BYU.
THE SERIES
The Lions will face Pacific for the 52nd time in program history on Saturday. The Tigers took a 26-25 lead in the series with a 77-63 win at Gersten Pavilion on Jan. 1. In the first meeting, the teams combined to shoot better than 55 percent from the field. Evan Payne scored a game-high 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting to pace the Lions' 52.6 percent (20-for-38) shooting. David Taylor paced Pacific's 57.4 percent effort (27-for-47) with 20 points, including 5-for-8 from three. The Tigers hit 9-for-19 from three (47.4 Percent) and outscored the Lions 18-11 off turnovers. The Lions turned the ball over 16 times to Pacific's nine. The Lions out rebounded their fourth straight opponent, 25-22 and finished 20-for-24 from the charity stripe (83.3 percent). Payne went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line for his 14th career 20-point game. Godwin Okonji added 10 points and seven rebounds while Patson Siame also had 10 points with two blocks. Gavriel Aguirre was the other Tiger in double figures with 15.
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 117 and 113 games, respectively, at LMU, ranking tied for 4th and tied for 10th all-time in program history. Both were expected to be mainstays in the starting line-up a year ago before their medical redshirts and enter the game against Saint Mary's with a combined 171 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 steadied the Lions' offense in the last four games with the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the WCC. All told, the trio have combined to play 294 games as Lions.
THE VOICE
Ayodeji Egbeyemi has become the Lions' captain and voice on the floor, and he continues to show why. Egbeyemi has 11 double-digit scoring games this season, including his career-best 22 against Portland. He has led the Lions in scoring three of the last five games and is shooting 80.6 percent from the charity stripe on the season. He is ranked 10th in the WCC. He leads the team in minutes at 27.8 per game. He played just 11 minutes on Thursday due to a quad injury to his right leg. His status for Pacific is questionable... Fellow senior Godwin Okonji continue to anchor the Lions under the basket. He had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 35 minutes at SMC. He scored 13 points with nine rebounds, a block and three steals against Santa Clara and went for nine points and eight rebounds (six offensive) at USF. He now leads the Lions with 6.0 rebounds per contest, ranking 7th in the WCC. He has 126 rebounds this season, giving him 569 in his career. He is the 27th Lion to top 500 rebounds in a career, currently ranking 17th all-time at LMU. He is also ranked 8th in the WCC with 27 steals (1.2 spg). His three at SMC gives him 91 in his career, cracking the top-30 all-time at LMU... As for Flint, his nine assists with no turnovers is the most assists in a no turnover game since Damian Martin had 11 assists and zero turnovers on Nov. 17, 2006 as LMU defeated New Mexico State 71-69. Flint is also in the top-15 in steals within the WCC, ranking 12th at 1.1 spg. He has eight in the last three games.
RETURNING PRODUCTION
The other two returning players from the Lions' roster last year are having a big impact. Sophomore Evan Payne has put up the points, running his career total to 866 in 53 games (16.5 ppg in his career). His 17.6 ppg this season trails only BYU's Tyler Haws and Brad Waldow in the WCC. Payne is also fourth in free throws attempted (120), fourth in free throws made (95), 11th in free throw percentage, fifth in field goals made (123) and fourth in attempted (273)... Marin Mornar has also turned heads the last month, going for a career-best 16 points and eight rebounds against BYU then doing one better with his first double-double, scoring 21 points with 10 boards against Portland. He did it even better at SCU with 22 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes. He matched his career-best in rebounds with another 11 at USF.
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 21 games... Junior transfer David Humphries had his best game as a Lion with 13 points and four assists in the win over USF. In the last four games, he has averaged 8.3 ppg, 3,5 rpg and has averaged 52.2 percent from the field, the best in that span of games for the Lions... Junior Matt Hayes found his form against BYU, hitting all three of his three-pointers to finish with 11 points. And he was at it again versus the Pilots, hitting three-of-four from long range. All told, 23 of his 30 field goals are three-pointers and he is ranked 4th within the WCC in three-point field goal percentage at 43.4... freshman Petr Herman had his best game against the best in the WCC. He had 11 points with a team-best seven rebounds, adding a block and two steals off the bench in 23 minutes against #3 Gonzaga. He hit 5-for-6 from the charity stripe.
