Nov. 10, 2016 LINKS: Basketball Ticket Information | #LIONSTRONG | Give to LMU Athletics | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES - The 2016-17 basketball season will get started with a memorable week on the campus of Loyola Marymount University. It all begins with LMU men's basketball hosting Vanguard in the season opener on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 pm. The game is sponsored by South Bay BMW and features free tickets to all military personnel, both active and retired.
THE MATCH-UP
LMU will open the 2016-17 season at home against Vanguard. The Lions have played Vanguard twice, last coming on Dec. 27, 2011. The Lions earned the 100-74 victory... LMU has won both meetings against Vanguard... Vanguard won the NAIA National Championship in 2014... They were ranked sixth in the Golden State Athletic Conference preseason poll, but just three points out of the fifth place spot. The Blue and Gold returns All-GSAC Player and multiple GSAC Player of the Week winner Zach Allmon (SR/San Luis Obispo, CA) for his final season.
PROMOTIONS
There will be lots going on for the 2016-17 season opener. It is Veterans Day and the Lions will honor all military personnel throughout the evening, including the offer for FREE TICKETS to all military personnel, both active and retired. Guests of military members get in for just $10! Go online at LMULions.com/Tickets and enter promo code SALLUTE2016.
The Lions will also honor the LMU Air Force ROTC and the Jonn Scott Flath Memorial Scholarship during pregame.
It all begins at 6 pm with a special Pregame Celebration for LMU Cage Members in the atrium outside Gersten Pavilion. Not a member? It's easy. Sign-up by visiting LMULions.com/Tickets and clicking on THE CAGE or sign-up while at the pregame celebration. In addition, the CAGE will be giving away it's official jersey.
Single game and season tickets are on sale, as well as, group ticket packages featuring special discounts to be a part of this year's memorable 18-game home schedule. This includes the Lions' match-up with UCONN, which will bookend the 2016 Tip-Off Week. Go to LMULions.com/tickets to purchase.
A final reminder that all students, faculty and staff get into ALL LMU games for free with valid LMU OneCard. For more on TIP-OFF WEEK 2016, visit LMULions.com/TIPOFF16.
TICKETS
The best way to get tickets to this season of LMU basketball is still through season tickets. To renew season tickets, click MY ACCOUNT. To buy new season ticket, click BUY TICKETS. Have the promo code for the local community season ticket, click PROMO CODE.
INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions return seven letterwinners from last year's 2015-16 squad that finished six games better than the year before at 14-16 overall and 6-12 in the WCC (tied for 7th). The Lions won three of their last four, including a pair of overtime wins against teams in the top half of the league standings (USF and Pepperdine).
Unlike last season when the LMU men's basketball team entered the new season with more new faces than you could count on one hand, they enter year three under Head Coach Mike Dunlap with some pieces in place. "We considered last season as year one with such a big group of guys new to the program," said Dunlap. "This year those guys are a year older, and we can build on the foundation we set last year. We finished the year on an upswing and we have some things in place to build from."
One of the cornerstones for the Lions heading into the 2016-17 season will be taking care of the basketball. The Lions' turnover average of 11.35 was their best ever, as was their assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.37.
Honorable mention All-Conference selection Brandon Brown was a big reason why the Lions were among the best in taking care of the ball. He ranked seventh all-time in program history with a 2.24 assist-to-turnover ratio and his 177 assists in 2015-16 rank 10th best in program history. He was ranked fourth in the WCC in assists at 5.7 per game (ranked 27th nationally) and helped the Lions to rank in the top-50 nationally in assists per game (46th), assist-to-turnover ratio (39th), turnover margin (26th) and fewest turnovers (29th).
Brown is one of five seniors on the Lions' squad in 2016-17. Joining Brown after their first season as transfers last year are Shamar Johnson and Buay Tuach. Adding more senior leadership will be Stefan Jovanovic, a transfer from Hawaii who went 28-6 overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and Kelvin Amayo, who was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.
Growing into a leadership role on the team is redshirt junior Steven Haney, Jr. He was a WCC First-Team All-Academic selection a year ago in his first season of action after coming from Central Florida in 2015. He had 73 three-pointers on the season, ranking eighth all-time in LMU history.
Rounding out the Lions' nucleus of returning players are junior Petr Herman and sophomores Jeffery McClendon and Munis Tutu. As a freshman Tutu, who like the rest of the Lions, got better as the season progressed, finished the season with 94 assists and just 35 turnovers, good for an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.69 per game. It is the best ever in LMU history and ranked fifth in the WCC (and 48th nationally). Herman gives the Lions size in the post and he continued to grow as the year advanced into February, posting his first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. In the win over Pepperdine, Tutu and Jeffery McClendon provided the big lift. Tutu had 13 points, six assists and six rebounds in 34 minutes while McClendon had seven points, five rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes.
LMU will look to their group of four newcomers to take the Lions even further. Joining Jovanovic and Amayo is mid-semester transfer Trevor Manuel, and freshmen Donald Gipson, Eric Johansson, and Mattias Markusson. Manuel is a transfer from Oregon who joined the Lions at mid-year in 2015-16. He will be eligible at the end of the Fall 2016 semester. Amayo is a transfer from Iona who was granted a sixth-year of eligibility. He is earning his Masters in Education at LMU. Gipson was an All-State performer for Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, while Johansson and Markusson come from Sweden with international experience under their belt. "We are very excited about this incoming class," said Dunlap. "We were able to get good size and they have really fit well with our returning players. Once again, this group has really come together and their unity will be a strength of our program."
COMING UP
Tip-off Week continues on Sunday, Nov. 13 with women's basketball playing their home opener against Saint Louis. Game time is set for 2 pm. The game is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day with special raffles for goodie bags. Funds raised through the raffle will be going to support Pancreatic Cancer research. It will also be part of the Iggy Birthday Bash for Little Lions Club members. The Birthday Bash includes a special Little Lions Den complete with games, cupcakes, a bounce house and more. It is also Summer Camper Reunion Day, with all LMU Summer Campers getting into the game FREE! Remember, WEAR YOUR CAMPER T-SHIRT to get in the game free.
Tip-off Week will conclude with the Lions taking on UCONN on Nov. 17. The game is also LMU's ALL FOR ONE DAY OF GIVING! LMU is looking for 4,000 alumni, parents and friends to make a gift of ANY size to ANYWHERE on campus on Nov. 17. If LMU meets the goal, two generous donors will award LMU with $100,000 for student scholarships. Give on the 17th and make sure to mark your gift for the LIONS ATHLETIC FUND, which benefits the scholarships of the Lions' more than 400 student-athletes. It's all hands on deck, so please challenge your friends to make their gift using the hashtag #AllforOneLMU. For more, visit LMULions.com/TIPOFF16
LAST TIME OUT - EXHIBITION: LMU 80, Sonoma St. 50
The 2016-17 LMU men's basketball season got underway on Friday and the Lions got a look at their entire active roster in an 80-50 win over Sonoma State at Gersten Pavilion. All 12 in uniform saw action as the Lions look towards their season opener on Nov. 11... The Lions' offense had balance and was consistent, going 14-for-26 in the first half and then 14-for-27 in the second half. They finished 52.8 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three (8-for-15)... Freshman Mattias Markusson led the Lions with a double-double, using his 7-1 frame to earn 12 points and 10 rebounds. Buay Tuach scored 12 points and Munis Tutu added 10, going perfect from the field and the free throw line... Senior transfer Stefan Jovanovic had eight points and five rebounds. Junior Steven Haney hit three three-pointers for nine points and sophomore Jeffery McClendon had an efficient eight points and three rebounds in just 12 minutes. The Lions' size was, well, big. They outscored Sonoma State 34-14 in the paint and held a 37-31 edge in rebounds.
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