Nov. 22, 2009

Game Notes in Printable/Downloadable PDF Format

Interactive Game Notes with Audio:

The LMU men's basketball team earned a streak-stopping road win at a Pac-10 gym on Saturday night, and their reward 12 hours later -- a 6 a.m. departure for Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricanes of Conference USA on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m. (PT) It will be the Lions (2-3) sixth game in 12 days, the fifth of the bunch away from home. For Tulsa (4-0), it is their fifth game, all at home. The game can be heard on KXLU 88.9 FM and on www.LMULions.com.

INSIDE THE LIONS
The Lions, who do not feature a senior on the roster and started a freshman, three sophomores and a junior against USC, are 2-3 on the season after defeating USC at the Galen Center Saturday night. Sophomore Drew Viney, who sat last year after transferring from Oregon, has scored 66 points in the last three games and is leading four players with double figures after five games with 17.2 per game. Junior Larry Davis shook off the early spring Achilles heal injury by scoring 22 points in his first college game and is second on the team with 13.2 points through the first four games. Davis served his redshirt season after transferring from Seton Hall last year. Vernon Teel, who led the team last year in scoring, is averaging 12.0 points per game this season. Teel has been the spark plug for the Lions, going for 6.2 rebounds (tied for team lead), 6.2 assists (2nd in WCC) and 1.80 steals per game. Sophomore Jarred DuBois is fourth on the team in scoring with 10.4 per game, reaching double figures thanks to his season-high 17 against USC. Freshman Edgar Garibay, who earned back-to-back starts heading into the Tulsa game, averages of 24.8 minutes a game and is averaging 7.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.60 blocks per game (third in WCC).

TOUGH STRETCH
The LMU men's non-conference schedule is quite loaded. The Lions will play five of nine games from Nov. 15 through Dec. 12 against teams picked by Sports Illustrated in their annual college basketball preview edition to advance to this year's NCAA tournament. Montana (Nov. 15, Dec. 10) has been picked to win the Big Sky, Tulsa (Nov. 24) has been picked to represent Conference USA, UC Santa Barbara (Nov. 28) has been selected to win the Big West, and Notre Dame (Dec. 12) has been selected to represent the Big East. Also mixed in that stretch is a trip to Wyoming (Dec. 5) of the Mountain West Conference and USC (Nov. 21) of the Pac-10.

A NEW LOOK - QUICK HITTERS THROUGH FIVE
• Jarred DuBois scored a season-high 17 points to lead three Lions in double figures as the Lions earn their first win on the USC campus since the first game of the 1976-77 season, a span of 33 years. It is also the first overall road win since Dec. 8, 2007 against Boise State, snapping a streak of 24 games. It was also the first win against a Pac-10 team since the Lions beat the Trojans on Dec. 4, 1995, 86-83, at Gersten Pavilion.
• After five games, LMU has outrebounded its opponent every game this season, holding a rebound margin of +6.0. They outrebounded opponents just seven times all of last season. They will have their work cut out for them against Tulsa, who holds a +14.5 rebound margin thanks mainly to 7'0" Jerome Jordan. he leads the team in scoring (15.8) and rebounds (9.0). Steven Idlet is second on the team with 8.0 rebounds per game.
• LMU has showed it has a young, new roster with four different starting line-ups in five games. The win over USC with the fourth different line-up.
• The Lions scored 87 and 83 points in their first two games, respectively, going for more than 80 points in consecutive games since the 2005-06 season. The Lions defeated San Diego 94-76 on Feb. 6, 2006 and then Pepperdine in overtime, 89-78, on Feb. 11. The Lions are averaging 21.9 more points than a year ago, putting in 75.6 points per game this season after averaging just 55.7 a year ago.
• The 87 points against Boise State was the most since the Lions scored 97 in an overtime win at Mercer on Nov. 24, 2007. It is the most points in regulation since 88 at Pepperdine on Feb. 17, 2007. The Lions had just one game of 70 points a year ago, after four games this season they have three.
• The 23-point win over North Dakota (83-60) was the largest margin of victory since Nov. 24, 2004 when LMU travelled to Greeley, Colo., and defeated Northern Colorado 83-51.
• The Lions had 16 steals in the win over North Dakota, leading to 25 points. It was the most steals in a single game since they had 17 in an 83-79 overtime loss to Portland on Feb. 16, 2002. They have 39 through five games this season. At the same point last year, they had 27.
• Larry Davis scored 22 points in his first game as a Lion against Boise State. It was the best debut by a Lion since Brandon Worthy scored 24 games in his first game as a true freshman on Nov. 22, 2002 against Loyola-Chicago.
• The Lions opened the 2008-09 season going 0-for-8 from the three-point line, snapping a stretch of 375 games with a three-point field goal. It was a different story to start 2009-10 as the Lions went 8-for-17 from behind the arch against Boise State and then 9-for-20 against North Dakota. The Lions are tops in the WCC hitting 30-for-77 (47.1 percent) through five games. So happens the Lions are hitting 47.1 percent from the field as well (136-for-289). After five games in 2008-09, the Lions shot 22-76 (33.3 percent) from three and 34.6 percent from the field (93-for-269). • LMU has scored 79 points off turnovers through four games this season. They had 58 through five games last year.
• Freshman Edgar Garibay has eight blocks, sophomore Kevin Young, who set the freshman record last year with 34 blocks, has five while junior Vernon Teel and Drew Viney have a pair of blocks each this season to pace the Lions, who have 20 as a team. In 2008-09 the Lions did not have a block in their first four games and did not crack a baker's dozen until game 16 of the season against Cal State Bakerfield on Jan. 4, 2009.

- GO LIONS -