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LOS ANGELES - After a brief two-game stay at home, LMU men's basketball is back on the road in West Coast Conference action. They will begin the road swing with San Francisco on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 7 pm. It will be a high-tempo offense, the Dons (9-7, 3-3) are third in WCC games averaging 84.5 ppg, against a tough defense, LMU (7-9, 0-5) is third in WCC games allowing just 74.6 ppg. The game can be seen on TheW.tv and heard on KXLU 88.9 FM.
LMULIONS.COM GAMEDAY:
THE MATCH-UP
It will be all about tempo in the 151st all-time meeting between LMU and San Francisco. Through three weeks in West Coast Conference action, offense has carried the Dons while defense has been solid for the Lions. The Dons enter the week ranked third in the conference, scoring 84.5 ppg in WCC match-ups. Conversely, the Lions enter the week ranked third in the WCC, allowing just 74.6 ppg against conference foes. On the flip side, both are last in the other statistical category. The Lions have averaged just 58.6 ppg while USF has allowed 85.7 ppg in conference play... The teams split last seasons series, with both winning on the road, including the Lions winning on a buzzer beater in San Francisco. In fact, the series has been a close one of late with seven of the last 11 match-ups coming down to the final seconds.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
LMU continues to lead the league in turnover margin at +3.5, forcing a league high 15.3 turnovers a game by their opponent while turning the ball over just 11.8 times per game, second in the WCC. The Lions are also tops in the league in offensive rebounds at 12.8 per game and second in the league in steals at 7.3.
Adom Jacko had his fifth 20-point game on Thursday, going for 21 points and eight rebounds. He was the only Lion in double figures against the Gaels, going 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) from the field. The rest of the Lions went 9-for-38 (23.6 percent). Jacko is 11th in the WCC in scoring at 14.3 ppg, 9th in rebounds at 6.5 rpg and 9th in field goal percentage at 53.4.
Brandon Brown led the Lions against Pacific with 15 points and seven assists. He has had seven or more assists in eight games this season and is fifth with 5.7 assists per game. He is also 15th in scoring at 13.3, eighth in free throw shooting at 78.6 percent and 9th in steals at 1.1 spg.
For the first time all season the Lions had more turnovers than their opponent as Saint Mary's finished with just eight, the lowest by an opponent on the season against the Lions. LMU had 14 and were outscored 18-3 in points off turnovers. They turned it around against Pacific, forcing 18 turnovers while comiting just 13 of their own. The recent homestand saw the Lions struggle from the floor. The Lions had the fewest points in a game (48 vs. SMC), points in the first half (21 vs. SMC), in the second half (27 both games), fewest points off turnovers (3 vs. SMC), fewest second chance points (2 vs. SMC) and fewest bench points (2) of the season. They finished just 40-for-109 (36.7%) from the field in the two games.
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions dropped their first home games of the season this past week. They were a perfect 5-0 in non-conference with a 77-60 win over Jacksonville State to close non-conference play on Dec. 18 at Gersten Pavilion. They are 7-9 overall and 0-5 in the WCC, dropping five straight games after winning six of eight.
Adom Jacko's 22 points and 10-rebound effort in the season opener is the first double-double 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. 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. Jacko now has four double-doubles on the season, fifth in the WCC, going for 19 points and 11 rebounds at Gonzaga. He followed that with a 21-point, nine-rebound outing at Pepperdine. He went back-to-back with 21 points, hitting that mark Thursday. He was held to 8 points and 7 rebounds against Pacific.
The Lions feature a 15-man roster, and as the season began nine of them were not in an LMU uniform in 2014-15. With the new-look roster, the Lions will feature a full rotation, and entering WCC play, the Lions depth has been a factor. Against Pepperdine the Lions featured their seventh different starting line-up of the season and the Lions have played at least 10 players in every game this season except for one (at CSUF, playing nine). The Lions have played all 12 scholarship players seven of the 16 games. The Lions had five players score in double figures in the first road win of the season at SEMO and then they had six go for double digits in the 77-76 win over UC Riverside. David Humphries equalled his season-best with 12 points off the bench Saturday against Pacific. In the start, Buay Tuach had a career-best 10 points against the Tigers.
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 had three in the opener against the Titans and has 18 so far this season to move to second all-time with 111 blocks. The only four-year senior on the roster, he played in 100th game against Pacific.
