Feb. 10, 2015 BUY TICKETS | This is LMU Basketball | We Are LMU... | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES -- After splitting a pair of games at home, LMU will leave Los Angeles county for the final time in the regular season as they head out on the demanding Pacific Northwest road trip, and it couldn't start any harder. The Lions (8-17, 4-7) face #3 (AP)/#2 (Coaches) Gonzaga (24-1, 12-0) on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 6 pm. The game can be seen on the ROOT networks, Comcast SportsNet California, ESPN3 and out-of-market online at TheW.tv. The game will also be aired live on KXLU 88.9 FM.
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INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions' record sits at 8-17 and 4-9 in the WCC after splitting a two-game homestand last weekend. They opened with a 70-61 win over San Diego, giving them back-to-back conference wins for the first time since they opened the 2013-14 conference campaign. They then dropped an 87-68 decision to BYU on Saturday. Marin Mornar continues to shine in WCC play, posting his his fifth career-high game in the last nine contests against USD, going 8-for-10 from the field and 11-for-12 from the free throw line to finish with 27 points and nine rebounds. In the last four games, Mornar is averaging 19.0 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Junior Marin Mornar had his third double-double of the season (three in the last eight games) with 23 points and equalled a career-best with 11 rebounds against Pacific. He has set career-highs in five of the last nine games thanks to his 27 points and nine rebounds against San Diego. He went for 16 and 8 rebounds at BYU (Jan. 10), 21 and 10 vs. Portland (Jan. 15), 22 and 11 at SCU (Jan. 22), 23 points and 11 rebounds at Pacific (Jan. 31), and then the game against USD Thursday. In the 13 WCC games, he is 11th in scoring (13.8), 5th in rebounds (7.0), 4th in offensive rebounds (2.8 orpg), 7th in defensive rebounds (4.2 drpg), 5th in field goal percentage (53.3%), 10th in free throw percentage (81.6%) and 3rd in blocks (1.5 bpg). He has 39 blocks on the season, an average of 1.56 per game, ranking second in the WCC. His season total of 39 is tied for 5th all-time in a single season at LMU with Oduok. He has 85 in his career, tied with Drew Viney (2008-12) for 6th all-time.
Senior Godwin Okonji, who has 13 offensive rebounds in the last four games, leads the WCC with 76 (3.2 per game). He led the Lions with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals against Saint Mary's, and came back with 11 points and seven rebounds (five offensive) against Pacific. He has averaged 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, adding eight steals, seven assists and three blocks in the last four games. He is ranked ninth in the conference in rebounding overall at 5.9 rpg and 6th with 32 steals (1.3 spg).
The Lions have found some rhythm on offense, going for 73 assists in the last four games, including 20 assists on 22 field goals against SMC and 20 assists with just 10 turnovers at Pacific. The Lions had 17 assists with 12 turnovers against San Diego and then 16 and 10 against BYU. Through 12 non-conference games, the Lions averaged 10.8 apg, while in WCC play they have risen that to 14.8 apg, going for 18.3 apg the last four games. In that same time span, they have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8 as compared to their season ratio of 0.9.
Leading the charge has been senior Chase Flint. He had a career-best 10 assists in the overtime win at Pacific and went for nine assists and no turnovers at USF. He is second in the WCC overall with a 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranked 18th nationally heading into the weekend. His nine assists and no turnovers matched freshman Simon Krajcovic's performance from Nov. 29. The freshman added 12 points in just 18 minutes agasint UC Irvine. He was averaging 2.12 assists per game and 0.76 steals per game before suffering knee injury at Pacific . He will not play in the Pacific Northwest trip.
Sophomore Evan Payne has put up the points, running his career total to 923 in 56 games (16.5 ppg in his career). His 17.8 ppg this season trails only BYU's Tyler Haws and Brad Waldow in the WCC. He had his 15th career game with 20 or more points, going for 23 points on 7-for-16 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line at Pacific. In addition, he is averaging 3.3 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game the last four contests.
Junior transfer David Humphries had his best game as a Lion with 14 points, five assists, two rebounds, a steal on 4-for-7 three-point shooting in 44 minutes against Pacific. He followed that with an all-around performance in the win over USD, playing in 39 minutes he had nine points, six assists, no turnovers, four rebounds, two steals and a block. He missed a double-double by one rebound against BYU, going for 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes against BYU. His production has taken off in WCC play, going for 10.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 4.25 apg in the last four games while averaging 37.7 minutes per game. In that same time span, he has shot 50% from the field and hit 55% from three (11-for-20). In the 13 WCC games, he ranks 7th in 3-point percentage (48.7%) and 13th in three-pointers per game (1.5).
LEADERSHIP: 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 is averaging 10.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 39.3 percent from three and 80.6 from the free throw line. He played just 11 minutes at Saint Mary's due to a quad injury to his right leg. He did not play the last three games and will be a game time decision for the trip to Gonzaga and Portland... Fellow senior Godwin Okonji continue to anchor the Lions under the basket. He has 142 rebounds this season, giving him 585 in his career. He is the 27th Lion to top 500 rebounds in a career, currently ranking 17th all-time at LMU. He is ranked ninth this season in overall rebounding with in the WCC. He is also ranked 6th in the WCC with 32 steals (1.33 spg). He has 96 in his career, cracking the top-30 all-time at LMU, ranking 25th. He had a season-best three blocks against BYU, running his career total to 95, passing Ime Oduok (1993-96) for 4th all-time. He also has been a bright spot in WCC play. In the 13 conference games, his is ranked 10th in rpg (5.8), 14th in shooting (48.2%), fourth in steals (1.6 spg), and 1st in offensive rebounds (3.7 orpg)... 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 70 of his 94 assists this season in the last 11 games. He has just 32 turnovers on the season, good for a 2.94 assist-to-turnover average entering the game against Gonzaga. He has 72 assists in the 13 conference games, ranking third in the WCC at 5.5 assists per game. His 3.8 assists per game overall is ranked 8th and he is ranked 10th with 1.2 steals per game.
