Dec. 11, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
It has been a season of tough stretches for the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team, and their schedule will enter another one as they wrap up finals week. Facing a non-conference schedule that has combined to win over 61 percent of their games (79-50), LMU will have to play five of them in 10 days, beginning with a trip to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. The stretch will also include a home game against UC Riverside (Dec. 15, 7 p.m.), a trip to No. 13 UCLA (Dec. 17, 8 p.m.), and then back-to-back home games against Tulsa (Dec. 20, 7 p.m.) and Mercer (Dec. 22, 7 p.m.) The game against UCSB can be heard live on KXLU 88.9 FM and on LMULions.com.
DEPLETED ROSTER
Growing pains have become an understatement for the 2008-09 LMU Men's Basketball team. Already with the absence of head coach Bill Bayno (see note below) due to health issues, LMU's roster, which has six newcomers and just three seniors, has gotten much slimmer. They started the season with just 10 eligible scholarship student-athletes, including five new to a Lion uniform. Junior transfer Larry Davis (Seton Hall) and sophomore Drew Viney (Oregon), who give LMU eight new players total on the roster, will redshirt the season due to transfer rules while redshirt sophomore Terron Sutton is out for the year due to a torn ACL suffered in practice this October. The line-up has gotten even slimmer as Tim Diederichs, who had played limited minutes in the first three games, requires surgery on his injured right shoulder suffered in the first weeks of practice this season. He will miss the remainder of the season and plans on applying for a medical redshirt. There is more. Leading scorer, rebounder and assist man Vernon Teel broke his right foot against Notre Dame and had surgery Nov. 26 and will be out four to six weeks. There might be some help coming as freshman Ashley Hamilton, who missed the last three games due to a back injury, has been cleared to practice this week but his status for UCSB is still in question. With the injuries, the Lions are down to eight players, seven who are on scholarship. Two of those seven - seniors Corey Counts and Chris Kanne - earned scholarships this summer after playing as walk-ons the last three seasons. Current walk-on Griffin Reilly is the eighth active player and saw his first minutes of action Tuesday at Arizona. The Lions added a ninth player to the roster in walk-on Daniel Latimer.
Bill Bayno
Loyola Marymount University Athletics announced on Sunday, Nov. 23, that Bill Bayno is taking a leave of absence, effective immediately, as the head coach of the LMU men's basketball team. Assistant Coach Max Good will serve as acting head coach during Bayno's leave. "Recently, I was diagnosed with a serious medical condition, in part, related to the stress and anxiety of head coaching," says Bayno. "It will require treatment which will force me to take a leave of absence. It is unfortunate and I feel badly for the University, the coaching staff and most of all my players and their families, all of whom I will miss very much. I ask for privacy for myself and my family and I thank you for your prayers and support." "The LMU Family's greatest concerns are for the wellbeing of Bill and the team," said LMU Athletics Director Dr. William Husak. "His health is the most important thing he needs to focus on right now. He has done great things in his brief time at LMU and has earned the love and respect of all. I have asked Max Good to be our acting head coach during this time period and I have great confidence that Max and the rest of the staff will continue the process Bill began. All of us at LMU are concerned for Bill's wellbeing and he and his family are in our thoughts and prayers."
PETE NEWELL
The memorial service for Pete Newell, the Hall of Fame basketball coach and 1940 alum of LMU (then known as Loyola) who won an NCAA championship and Olympic gold medal and later tutored some of the game's greatest big men, will be held on the campus of Loyola Marymount University at Sacred Heart Cathedral Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. The service will begin at 10:00 a.m. The service is expected to be a full house with the those speaking to include Ann Meyers, Kermit Washington, Dick Doughty, Stu Lance, Jim Harris, Jerry West and Mike Dunlap. Some of the biggest names in basketball are expected to be in attendance. In honor of Newell, donations may be sent to: Pete Newell Scholarship Fund; c/o University of California; 195 Haas Pavilion; Berkeley, CA 94720-4422.
MORE ON THAT YOUTH
Five newcomers on LMU's roster, including four true freshman, have been asked to carry the load for the Lions this season. Sophomore transfer Vernon Teel and freshmen Jarred DuBois, Ashley Hamilton, Kevin Young and LaRon Armstead have combined to play 960 of the 1,600 minutes played in six games this season, good for 60 percent. That number is expected to lower just a tad due to the injured foot of Teel. DuBois leads the group with 34.5 minutes per game, on pace to snap the record by a freshman set by Forrest McKenzie with 29.8 minutes in 1981. Fellow freshman Armstead is quickly catching up, playing all 40 minutes in back-to-back games. The group has also combined for 303 of the 437 points (69.3 percent) and 163 of the 276 rebounds (59.1 percent).
MORE MINUTES
LaRon Armstead became the first Lion since Jim Williamson in the 1995-96 season to play a complete 40 minutes in back-to-back games. Armstead, who started the season averaging just 22 minutes a game at the Iowa State Tournament, is now averaging 28.1 minutes per game after going 40 minutes against Arizona and then against Wyoming. Williamson averaged 35.7 minutes a game in 1995-96, logging 40 minutes in a 67-63 win over Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 16, 1995 and then 40 minutes on Dec. 19, 1995 in an 82-80 win at Hawaii. That season total ranked seventh all-time in LMU history. The all-time leader is Keith Smith, who logged 38.1 minutes per contest in 1984-85. That season he played 40 or more minutes in 12 games, including a stretch of three straight games of 40 minutes and three more times where he went back-to-back games with 40 minutes.
MAKING A POINT
Freshman Jarred DuBois, who had a 40-minute game of his own against Wyoming, is turning into a floor leader. The true freshman point guard first turned heads with his defense against No. 8 Notre Dame, helping LMU hold first-team All-Big East performer Kyle McAlarney to zero points (0-for-7), forcing him into four turnovers. DuBois has now added offense to that effort, going for 16 points, hitting 4-of-6 from long range against the Irish. He did one better against UALR with 23 points. The point total ranks tied for 12th among single game scoring by a freshman. He added another 16 points against Arizona to move his average to 12.3 points per game and entered the week 11th in the West Coast Conference in scoring. He is also third in the WCC with an .875 free throw percentage and fifth in three-point percentage at .455 (15-for-33).
ON THE BOARDS
Despite its thin roster, the Lions have been active on the rebounding end of the floor, especially the offensive side. The Lions have 98 offensive rebounds, 14 more than their opponents. Leading the way has been freshmen Kevin Young and LaRon Armstead who have 49 and 40 rebounds, each in seven games. Young has games of 13 (Wyoming), 11 (at Arizona) and 10 (vs. Notre Dame) on his resume, ranking second, tied for fifth and 12th respectively for freshman in LMU history. Young has 22 offensive rebounds this season to lead the Lions and is ranked sixth in the WCC. His 6.1 rebounds per game overall is ranked 10th in the WCC. As for Armstead, since entering the starting line-up against Wagner, he has caught fire. He has averaged seven rebounds and 12.8 points in the last four games.
MAKING THEM COUNTS
Senior Corey Counts made sure the Lions didn't go long without a three-pointer, going 5-for-6 from long range against Iowa State. It was the second time in his career he has hit five in a game, hitting the mark while going for 21 points against Gonzaga in the WCC opener a year ago. Counts is 16-for-39 (41.0 percent) from the three-point line in 2008-09, moving his career total to 65-for-169 (38.5 percent) in his career. On the season, he entered the week fourth in the WCC in three-pointers made per game (2.0) and seventh in three-point percentage (41.0%) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.0). His career total entered the season ranked 11th and is now ranked 9th.
INSIDE THE GAME
This will be the 85th meeting between LMU and UC Santa Barbara in a series that LMU has as beginning in 1924. LMU holds a 48-36 edge in the series as the teams have met each year since 2005. The Lions lost last year's meeting at Gersten Pavilion 63-56 but won the previous three meetings. LMU is 16-22 at UCSB, winning in their last trip there on Nov. 29, 2006, 58-55. UCSB enters the game 4-4 and have not played since a 62-57 road win over Utah Valley on Dec. 4.
AGAINST THE BIG WEST
By playing UC Davis in the World Vision Classic in November, LMU has now played ever team currently in the Big West Conference. The game against UCSB will be the 228th time the Lions have faced a team from the Big West. The series against UCSB is the longest running at 84 games. LMU is 115-112 all-time against the current Big West.
SHOOTING TOUCH
Against Arkansas-Little Rock in game two of the three-game road trip, the Lions shot 56.8 percent from the field (21-for-37), 58.3 percent from long range and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. It was the best shooting performance for the Lions in over two seasons and ranks seventh overall in the last decade. The Lions held UALR to just 41.7 percent shooting (25-for-60) and out-rebounded one of the best rebounding teams in the nation by nine (34-25).
TAKE A GOOD LOOK
The Australian forward Marko Deric is the only senior on the Lions' roster who came to the Lions on a scholarship. He enters the UCSB game with 90 games as a Lion, averaging 4.3 per game in his first three seasons. Fellow senior guards Corey Counts and Chris Kanne are former walk-ons who earned scholarships this summer. Kanne is a fifth-year senior who earned his Business degree in May and is now in graduate school at LMU for Business Law. Kanne turned heads this offseason with his shooting and is expected to play more as he enters the UCSB game with 40 career games in three-plus seasons. Counts had a breakout year last season, starting 22 games, leading the team with 88 assists while hitting on 39 percent from the three-point line (37-for-95). Counts has played 67 games as a Lion, hitting 65 three-pointers with 144 assists. Take a good look at seniors this season as Counts, Kanne and Deric will be the only three seniors in the LMU men's basketball program for the next two years as the roster has only one junior and that is redshirt Larry Davis.
HISTORICAL THREE
Since the three-point field goal was introduced in the 1986-87 season, LMU has had just one game where they have not had a three-pointer. Well, in the first game with the three-point line pushed back a foot they had their second, snapping a streak of 375 games snapped. The Lions went 0-for-8 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, marking just the second time they went without a three. The only other "miss" came on Dec. 19, 1995 when the Lions went 0-for-6 in an 82-80 win over Hawaii. That game snapped a 271 consecutive three-pointer streak for the Lions. Heading into the game against UCSB, in the 655 games the Lions have played since the three-point line was instituted, the Lions have hit three-pointers in 653 of them. The Lions have never gone without a three-pointer in WCC play.
DEFENSE
It might not show in the record, but the Lions and their zone defense has frustrated opponents. First it was No. 8 Notre Dame, holding first-team All-Big East performer Kyle McAlarney to zero points. The senior McAlarney averaged 15.1 points a year ago and hit 108 three-pointers (hitting 44 percent) and then went on to hit 39 against No. 1 North Carolina a week later. Freshman Jarred DuBois and senior Corey Counts held him to 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-4 from long range, forcing him into four turnovers. The Lions then held Arizona's Chase Budinger to just 10 points in 27 minutes, more than 12 points less than his average entering the game. Then last week against Wyoming, holding the Mountain West Conference's highest scoring team more than 20 points under its season average. The Lions held Preseason All-American Honorable Mention selection, Brandon Ewing, under double digits for the first time in 21 games, dating back to the middle of last season. On top of that, the Lions held a Cowboys team that averages better than 48 percent from the field to 40 percent and 28 percent from behind the arc.
- GO LIONS -
