Nov. 21, 2015 LOS ANGELES -- LMU men's basketball returns home from an NCAA tournament-level road trip for the 2015 Alumni Family Day at the Game on Sunday, Nov. 22 when the Lions take on the University of Antelope Valley at 3 pm. The fun begins with the family tailgate party at 1 pm. Follow the game live on KXLU 88.9 FM and on the LMU Sports Network.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
THE MATCH-UP
This is the first meeting between LMU and Antelope Valley, who is 1-4 on the season and will complete a stretch of three road exhibition games against NCAA Division I foes. They made a tour of Utah, facing Utah Valley and Weber State... The University of Antelope Valley was created in the winter of 1997 by Los Angeles City Firefighter/Paramedic Marco Johnson, and began instructing CPR and First Aid courses. Six months after its inception, Antelope Valley Medical College (AVMC) received approval from the State of California and the County of Los Angeles to provide training in Emergency Medical Technology. In June 2009, the institution received approval from the United States Department of Education and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) to offer Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degrees. Thus, the University of Antelope Valley (UAV) was established. The UAV athletic department has formed as quickly as the University itself, competing in the NAIA in eight varsity programs. They compete in the Cal Pac conference.
GAMEDAY
The Lions return home from a two-game road swing against a pair of NCAA tournament teams for a two-game homestand of their own.. The Lions will then return home for Alumni Family Day at the Game on Sunday, Nov. 22 when the Lions host Antelope Valley State at 3 pm. A special pregame family tailgate starts at 1 pm. The Lions will then host CSUN on Thanksgiving Eve, taking on the Matadors in the fifth annual LMU Holiday Classic. The annual game centered around the holidays and the local community features FREE ADMISSION and $1 hotdogs provided by Sodexo. Game time is 6 pm. 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 purchase 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 opened the second-season under Head Coach Mike Dunlap with a 79-74 win over Cal State Fullerton at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions then went on a two-game road trip, which included a 77-53 setback to 2014-15 Big West champion UC Irvine and then falling to Colorado State, a 2015 NCAA tournament qualifer, 83-75, on Thursday. The Lions have used their entire bench so far this season as 11 of the 12 players who have earned minutes this season are averaging 12 or more per game.
Adom Jacko led the Lions in both the home and road openers, earning a double-double, scoring 22 points with 10 rebounds against Cal State Fullerton. Fellow junior college transfer Brandon Brown has been the most consistent and leads the Lions with 17.3 points, 4.3 assists and 31.7 minutes per game. He scored 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting against the Rams Thursday. He has scored in double figures all three games so far this season.
The Lions' aggressive defense so far this season has equated to 48 points, holding a a 17-7 edge in points off turnovers against the Titans and then an 18-8 edge on Thursday against Colorado State. The Lions generated eight steals and used the Rams' 12 turnovers efficiently. In addition, they had only eight turnovers against the Rams and so far this season through three games have a turnover ratio of +4.33.
Jacko's double-double is the first by an LMU player in his first game as a Lion against an NCAA Division I program in 35 years. Senior Marin Mornar had 13 and 11 against Pacifica on Nov. 9, 2012. Greg Lakey had a double-double (13 and 10) against Vanguard on Nov. 17, 2000 and Pablo Machado had 15 and 17 against Cal Baptist on Nov. 20, 1999. In addition, the 22 points were the most by a Lions' player in his first game since Larry Davis had 22 against Boise State on Nov. 13, 2009. Brandon Worthy had a 24-point effort against Loyola Chicago on Nov. 22, 2002 for the best scoring game by a Lion his first collegiate game (freshman).
Senior Marin Mornar was second in the WCC in blocks a year ago, finishing with 47 as a junior to rank 5th all-time for blocks in a season. He is back at it to start his senior season. He had three in the opener against the Titans and added another against UCI to sit tied for third all-time with 97 blocks, equalling Chris Knight (1987-92). The only four-year senior on the roster, he played in his 88th game Thursday. Mornar had 11 points with five rebounds and an assist against the Rams and is third on the team averaging 7.0 ppg and 4.7 rpg.
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. With the new-look roster, the Lions will feature a full rotation. In the opener, Dunlap rotated 11 players with all of them playing at least seven minutes in the opener and all 12 scholarship players made the rotation on the road with a different starting line-up featured at CSU. Shamar Johnson and Brandon Brown have started all three games this season with Joshua Spiers, Adom Jacko and Buay Tuach earning the start Thursday. The Lions finished the opener with 48 points from their bench. On the road, the bench scored 31 points in each game giving them 110 points in the three games.
