Nov. 12, 2015 LOS ANGELES -- The 2015-16 LMU men's basketball season will begin with a pair of showdowns with local Big West rivals over the weekend and it all starts with The Tip-Off at Gersten Pavilion on Friday, Nov. 13 against Cal State Fullerton. Tip-off is set for 7 pm with the Tip-Off Pregame Tailgate on Hannon Field at 5 pm.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
THE MATCH-UP
• LMU will open the 2015-16 season at home against Cal State Fullerton. The Lions last faced the Titans in the CIT Postseason Tournament on Mar. 14, 2012 at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions earned an 88-79 win to advance. The victory was the Lions' 20th that season as Anthony Ireland had 26 points to lead five players in double figures... The Lions have won the last three meetings but trail the series, 13-11. The series is even at LMU, 5-5... Cal State Fullerton is led by third-year Head Coach Dedrique Taylor, who was an assistant for Steve Aggers at LMU in 2001-02. The Titans were 9-22 overall and went 1-15 in the Big West... In their exhibition contest they had five scorers in double-figures as the Titans dominated Bethesda, 106-66, in an exhibition game Friday night at Titan Gym. The Titans were led offensively by redshirt junior guard Tre' Coggins who tallied 18 points to set the tone for Fullerton. Following suit were Malcom Brooks (17 points), Lanerryl Johnson (14 points), Kyle Allman, Jr. (14 points) and Khalil Ahmad (13 points).
GAMEDAY
• The season opener begins with The Tip-Off Tailgate at 5 pm on Hannon Field. Sodexo will provide a special tailgate BBQ for those with an LMU OneCard and Susie Cakes will provide free cupcakes. Party Works games will include a zipline, mechanical shark, free throw contest, photo booth, face painting, and more. AMP Radio will be on hand and the tailgate will include a raffle for two Coachella tickets that will be given away at the game. Season ticket packages are still available for as low as $90 adults/$45 seniors/children. For those in the LMU community, take advantage of the special discount by entering promo code LIONS90045 when you puchase through LMULions.com/Tickets. Single game tickets are available for Friday's game for $20 (adult/senior/students) anywhere in the arena and $15 for children. For tickets, visit LMULions.com/Tickets.
INSIDE THE LIONS
• The Lions played a single exhibition game in the preseason, defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills, 92-58, on Nov. 8 at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions started four new players - Brandon Brown, Munis Tutu, Shamar Johnson and Steven Haney along with returning sophomore Petr Herman. The exhibition was about extra opportunities. They held a 32 to seven edge in points off turnovers, grabbing 10 steals and forcing the Toros into 22 turnovers. The Lions finished out-rebounding CSUDH 40 to 27 and had 16 more shot attempts.
• The Lions opened a new season with a win for the fourth straight season in 2014-15. The Lions are 39-21 in season openers since they joined the West Coast Conference in 1955-56. The Lions are 14-36 in the first road game of the season since 1959-60. They continue the Big West weekend on the road with 2015 NCAA Tournament qualifier UC Irvine on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 5 pm. The game will be broadcast on KDOC-TV. The all-time series with the Anteaters is tied at 11-11. UCI earned a 80-72 win at Gersten Pavilion on Nov. 29, 2014.
• As the season begins, the Lions will feature a 15-man roster, and nine of them were not in an LMU uniform in 2014-15, eight newcomers and Steven Haney, Jr., who sat due to transfer rules last season. Haney and the six returning players have a season under their belt within the new program, and they will be asked to lead the team into the new season.
• Seniors Marin Mornar and David Humphries top the list of returning leaders. Mornar is the only four-year player on this year's roster, and he took huge strides a year ago. He played in all 31 games and made 22 starts, the most of any returner. He finished second on the team with 9.9 ppg and 5.3 rpg. He finished his junior season second in the WCC with 47 blocks, giving him 93 in his career. He enters the season ranked fifth all-time in LMU history. Humphries was one of Dunlap's first recruits, and the junior college transfer hit his stride in West Coast Conference play last season. He also played all 31 games, starting 18 - 14 of which came in WCC play. He averaged 6.6 ppg on the season, raising that to 8.3 ppg in conference games. He shot 39.3 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three on the season, raising that to 42.3 and 43.1 percent, respectively, in the WCC.
• Junior Matt Hayes was another junior college transfer, entering the Lions program as a sophomore. The sharpshooter was ranked ninth in the WCC in hitting 40.5 percent from three on the season. He finished playing 29 games, starting seven. Injuries slowed him in the middle of the season, but like Humphries, he was leaned on more as WCC play progressed. He finished averaging 4.2 ppg, scoring a season-best 20 against Santa Clara on Feb. 21. Sophomores Joshua Spiers and Petr Herman also had opportunities in their freshmen campaigns. Both had to adjust to coming from overseas, but showed flashes of growth towards the end of the season.
• Also returning for the Lions are the redshirt transfer Haney and walk-on Tyler Batiste. Haney played in 24 of the 31 games as a true freshman for Central Florida before transferring to LMU a year ago. He averaged 4.8 minutes and 1.5 points per game at UCF. Haney was named second-team Florida Class 7A All-State after averaging 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals per contest for St. Thomas Aquinas. Batiste graduated from Westchester High School in 2013 and earned letters his final two seasons for Head Coach Ed Azzam. He was a Daily Breeze All-Area, CIF All-City, and City Section All-State honoree as a senior.
• The 2015-16 recruiting class combined to post a record of 266-98 (73.1 winning percentage) in each of their final two seasons at the previous institution. The incoming class includes NJCAA Player of the Year Brandon Brown (Phoenix College; Phoenix, Ariz.), Guyer High School (TX) all-conference selection and walk-on Miles Crawford (Denton, Tex., Elev8 Academy), 2014 CCCAA All-State forward Adom Jacko (Chaffey College; Upland, Calif.), NJCAA All-Conference selection Shamar Johnson (Pensacola State College; Pensacola, Fla.), McDonald's All-American Games nominee Jeffery McClendon (Eastside HS, Pasadena, Calif.), NJCAA All-Conference selection Buay Tuach (Northeast C.C.; Norfolk, Neb.) and Canadian National Team member Munis Tutu (Windsor, Ontario, Canada; La Lumiere).
EXHIBITION
Junior transfer Brandon Brown led all scorers with 26 points as LMU earned a 92-58 exhibition win over Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday night at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions finished the night shooting 52.3 percent, scoring 52 points in the second half. Brown, the NJCAA Player of the Year at Phoenix College a year ago, was 11-for-17 from the field on the night. Freshman guard Munis Tutu added 12 points and seven rebounds while senior Marin Mornar came off the bench with 11 points and seven rebounds. "Our focus tonight was the stuff we work on each day in practice," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "We have been focused defensively on ball pressure and we had a job well done with that tonight. We held then to 36 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers. That shows you are working hard." The Lions had 10 steals and committed just 11 turnovers, only four in the first half. The turnover difference allowed the Lions to finished with 65 shot attempts to just 49 for the Toros. The Lions finished with a 32-7 edge in points off turnovers.
