Feb. 23, 2017 LINKS: #LIONSTRONG | Give to LMU Athletics | LMU on Facebook | LMU on Twitter
LOS ANGELES - LMU men's basketball will play their final home game of the 2016-17 season today, Thursday, Feb. 23 against San Francisco at 7 pm. The Lions will honor various seniors participating in their final home game at Gersten Pavilion, including Kelvin Amayo, Brandon Brown, Shamar Johnson, Stefan Jovanovic and Buay Tuach.
PROMOTIONS/COMING UP
There will be a lot going on at Gersten Pavilion for the game. Ceremonies recognizing the five graduating seniors on this year's roster will begin just before tip-off. The Lions will also recognize all LMU student-athletes graduating in May during a special timeout. In addition, a special recognition honoring those students who have supported the Lions behind the scenes will take place at halftime.
Speaking of halftime, LMU student Sororities, Fraternities and Service Organizations will have a chance to win $1,000 for their philanthropy in a special halftime competition sponsored by ASLMU Elections. In addition, residence halls with the highest percentage turnout at the game will earn $500 for an event of their choice.
The game also features CBA Night presented by OneWest Bank, featuring a special pregame gathering with those in the business program at LMU. Also, special thanks to the African American Alumni Association and Black Student Union for their partnership of the game.
For tickets:
THE MATCH-UP
• The Lions have been led all season by their five seniors, who have combined to play 338 games at the NCAA Division I level. All five were transfers brought in by third-year head coach
Mike Dunlap to build the foundation of the program. Their tenure at LMU can be defined as Cardiac Lions, entering the week having played over have their games down to the final minutes. On the season, the Lions have seen 11 of their games decided in the last 10 seconds of the contest (record of 4-7) and have played 15 games decided by eight points or less, going 7-8 in those contests. LMU is 3-3 in one-point games, 1-2 in three-point games, the five-point setback against BYU (Dec. 31), a pair of six-point wins in WCC play, a 1-1 in seven-point games and the eight-point setback at BYU on Jan. 28, 85-77.
• San Francisco is 19-10 in the first year under Head Coach Kyle Smith, sitting at 9-7 in WCC play. They are coming off a road win at Portland last Saturday, 65-51. The Dons are 11-4 at home, going 6-3 in conference play, while sitting at 4-5 on the road (3-4 in the WCC). Senior Ronnie Boyce leads the Dons at 13.3 points per game. The Dons are ranked 34th in the nation in three-point field goals per game, hitting 9.3 per game. They are also 13th in three-point attempts (745 on the season), 21st in three-pointers made (269), and 57th in scoring defense, holding teams to 67.0 ppg.
• This will be the 154th all-time meeting in the series. LMU swept the season series a year ago and the Dons won the first meeting this season, 74-64, on Feb. 4 in San Francisco. It was a game that was hectic from the beginning - it featured 36 turnovers (18 by both teams), 38 fouls (20 by USF) and 19 missed free throws. The missed free throws once again hurt the Lions as they managed to get 20 trips to the charity stripe but hit just eight (40 percent). The Lions also struggled from the field, hitting just 38 percent on the night while USF hit 50.9 percent. Buay Tuach was the only Lion (11-12, 4-8) in double figures with 16 points while Stefan Jovanovic had eight points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. The rebounding total equaled a career-high and set a single-game high for the Lions on the season. Boyce led USF (17-8, 7-5) with 16 points. McCarthy added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Support LMU's 22 intercollegiate teams and it's student-athletes through scholarships and team support by joining the Lions Athletics Fund. Your help will make LMU #LIONSTRONG.Together... WE ARE LMU Lions... join the pride today:
