Jan. 9, 2015 BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
PROVO, Utah -- LMU continues its' first road-swing of West Coast Conference action with a trip to Provo, Utah, to take on BYU on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 6 pm (PT). The Cougars (13-5, 3-2) are 7-3 at home this season after suffering a 67-60 setback to Pepperdine on Thursday. The Lions (4-12, 0-4) opened the road trip with a 59-50 setback to San Diego. The game can be seen on BYUtv and heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
The Lions' record sits at 4-12 after falling at San Diego to start the road trip on Thursday, 59-50. The Lions opened WCC play with a homestand that completed a gureling stretch of six games in 13 days. The Lions started the stretch with three games at the 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic on Dec. 22-25. The Lions fell to No. 11 Wichita State (80-53) and in overtime to Nebraska (50-42), and then ended the trip with a 72-69 win over DePaul. Sophomore Evan Payne scored 27 and 24 points, respectively, in the final games of the homestand, going on 16-for-31 from the field and 17-for-18 from the charity stripe. It was Payne's 8th and 9th 20-point game this season, making it number 14 and 15 of his career. After 13 points Thursday, Payne is ranked second in the WCC at 20.0 ppg, good for 14th nationally.
THE LIONS REAL QUICK... Sophomore Evan Payne enters Saturday second in the West Coast Conference and 14th nationally (as of Jan. 8) in scoring and sits with 20.0 ppg after averaging 25.5 last week in the Lions' homestand. He has led the Lions in 15 of the 16 games this season, and had a career-best 32 against NAU. In going a perfect 17-for-18 from the free throw in two games, Payne is 89-for-110 on the season. His 89 made free throws is 9th nationally and second in the WCC. He ranks 15th nationally in attempts and 8th in the WCC in percentage at 80.9... The Lions continue to be tough around the rim, ranking third in the WCC in blocked shots. They have 62 blocks as a team and are now averaging 3.88 per game. Junior Marin Mornar equalled a career-high with five blocks against UC Riverside and added four more on Thursday against USD. He has 27 on the season, an average of 1.69 per game, ranking second in the WCC. Mornar now has 73 blocks in his career, good for 8th all-time.
5. 91 Godwin Okonji - 2010-15
6. 85 Drew Viney - 2008-12
7. 74 Silvester Kainga - 1997-99
8. 73 Marin Mornar - 2012-15
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 111 career games, while fellow senior Egbeyemi played in 107 - both in the top-30 all-time at LMU (14th and 27th).
Except for a complete reversal against Saint Mary's, the theme for the Lions the last month as been solid around the glass while struggles with turnovers continue to hamper good defense. In the four games prior to the Gaels, the Lions held a +10.1 rebound margin. Against Nebraska, the Lions outrebounded the Huskers 40-22, including a 16-2 edge on the offensive glass. Saint Mary's, who leads the WCC with a +9.9 rebound margin, held the 37-28 edge, and in the last meeting LMU and USD each had 33. In those four previous games, the Lions had a +41 edge on the glass, helping them to a 16-2 edge in second chance points against the Waves. SMC had a 21-6 edge on Saturday. As for turnovers, they have been LMU's achilles heal. On Jan. 3 against SMC, the Lions committed a season-low six turnovers, more than nine fewer than their season average. Including that season low, the Lions have committed 155 turnovers to their opponent's 107 in the last 10 games (15.5 to 10.7 per game), equating to a 181 to 120 edge in points off turnovers for LMU's opponents.
DEFENSE: 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 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 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 16 points in the first half is the 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 SERIES: This is the youngest series in conference play for the Lions. With BYU joining the WCC in 2012, this will be the 11th meeting all-time between the programs. The Cougars hold a 6-4 edge in the series. The team's split the home-and-home series last year, each winning on their home floor. They then met in the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament as BYU took home an 85-74 win. The match-up will feature the top-two scorers in the WCC in Tyler Haws and Evan Payne. Here is a look at the match-up and their WCC rankings.
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 111 and 107 games, respectively, at LMU, ranking 14th and 27th 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 Pepperdine with a combined 159 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, who is from Fruit Heights, Utah, earned the start Thursday and has posted 11 assists and just one turnover the last two games.
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. Egbeyemi has seven double-digit scoring games this season and enters Saturday averaging 8.8 ppg. He is shooting 82.1 percent from the charity stripe on the season. He is ranked 6th in the WCC. He is second on the team with 27.5 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 5.9 rebounds per contest, ranking 10th in the WCC. His 40 offensive rebounds is 3rd in the WCC at 2.7 orpg. He also has three blocks, giving him 91 in his career. The total is fifth all-time in LMU history, one 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 817 in 48 games (17.0 ppg in his career). His 20.0 ppg trails only BYU's Tyler Haws (21.0 ppg) in the WCC. Fellow returner junior Marin Mornar has also been improving on his career numbers. He leads the Lions with 58.2 percent shooting from the field, scoring 7.4 points per game. He has a block in 13 of the Lions' 16 games and his 27 blocks is second in the WCC and 67th in the nation. He had a stat-stuffer game against the Toreros with seven points, seven rebounds, four blocks, two assists and a steal. He needs one more block to crack the top-20 for single season.
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 16 games... Patson Siame, in his first season after a year off to establish residency in 2013-14, is fourth in the WCC in blocks with 18, earning two on Thursday. He is adding 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. He had 11 points, six rebounds and a block against Pepperdine and the 10 points and two blocks against Pacific. He then had a career-best three blocks with seven points against Saint Mary's. His strong start to WCC play continued with 10 points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal against USD... Freshman Simon Krajcovic did not play the first two games nor against USD (coach's decision), 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 2.8 assists per contest, dishing out 36 in 13 games... junior transfer David Humphries had his best game as a Lion with 10 points against the Gaels, hitting all four of his shots, including a pair of three-pointers... Transfer Casey Norris made his first appearance as a Lion, playing four minutes as the back-up point guard. The walk-on from Ohlone College went through back surgery in September and was cleared to play this week. He had two points (going 2-for-2 from the free throw line) with a rebound.
