SAN DIEGO -- LMU came into tonight's game against USF with a clear strategy. Shoot a lot from behind the arc and hope it keeps them in the game.
In one aspect it worked. The Lions shot well from long-distance, but didn't do much else right as the fifth-seeded Dons advance to the WCC semifinal round with a 79-60 win.
Continue reading "WCC: Sutton, Dons Survive to Play Another Day" »
SAN DIEGO -- Now comes everyone's favorite element of basketball. With 1:45 remaining, USF has a 76-58 lead and LMU is refusing to concede. Translation: The Dons are shooting a lot of free throws. Come on people. I know it's your last game of the season, but there is another game to be played tonight.
SAN DIEGO -- LMU has been hot from long-distance (8-of-16), but has no answer for USF forward Dion Lowhorn, who is scoring at will and tallied 26 points and nine rebounds to put USF in the drivers' seat. The Dons have a 70-56 lead at the final media timeout and, barring a complete collapse, will advance to Saturday's WCC semifinal round against Santa Clara.
SAN DIEGO -- Since Myron Strong put Shawn Deadwiler on the line for three free throws, LMU has cut its 51-43 deficit to 56-53 with just under eight minutes left. If the Lions pull off the upset, that play will be a big reason why.
SAN DIEGO -- USF guard Myron Strong just discovered the quickest route to the bench. With the Dons riding momentum and holding a 51-43 lead, he fouled Shawn Deadwiler after he released the ball on an errant 3-point attempt. Eddie Sutton immediately called timeout, sat Strong down and Deadwiler hit all three foul shots to cut the LMU deficit to 51-46. USF needs to answer to keep momentum from switching sides.
SAN DIEGO -- The second half has started out much like the first as USF holds a 42-38 lead with 15:22 remaining. The Lions struck first blood, tying the game with a Shawn Deadwiler 3-pointer, but Eddie Sutton's Dons have played a more well rounded game to extend their lead to 42-38.
SAN DIEGO -- You'd think USF had a hefty lead over LMU with a glance at the halftime box. The Dons have outrebounded the Lions (20-18) and outshot them from the field (47 percent to 37 percent) and the line (71 percent to 43 percent) .
But the Lions have the advantage from long distance, hitting 6-of-9 3-pointers to keep the Dons' lead to a quite reasonable 34-31 score. Forward Dion Lowhorn has been huge for the dons with 12 points and seven rebounds, but USF will have to defend the perimeter better to avoid the upset by the 8th-seeded Lions.
SAN DIEGO -- This doesn't look like the bottom rung of a mid-major tournament as San Francisco holds a 25-22 lead over LMU with about six minutes left in the first half. Both teams are playing well, but the fifth-seeded Dons have started to push their agenda.
SAN DIEGO -- A small but loud contingent of LMU students and a cowbell-intensive pep band have given the Lions what feels like a homecourt advantage in the early goings of tonight's WCC opener.
LMU enter the WCC Tournament as the eight-seed, but you wouldn't know it by its start or its fans tonight. The Lions came out on fire behind strong play from Shawn Deadwiler and Orlando Johnson and a hot stroke from behind the arc.
SAN DIEGO -- If the three-month thrill-fest that is the NCAA Tournament is Christmas, then this is Christmas Eve. Conference tournaments are officially underway and we kick things off tonight with No. 8 seed Loyola Marymount taking on 5th-seeded San Francisco in the West Coast Conference Tournament.
Well, maybe it's very early on Christmas Eve. Ok -- the sun hasn't even risen as tonight's matchups amount to play-in games in the odd format that is the WCC Tournament.
Continue reading "WCC: It's like Christmas Eve... Sort of" »
LOS ANGELES -- Alex Harris knows it can be ugly sometimes on the road but he also think UC Santa Barbara showed what it takes to get it done away from home on Saturday night in a 63-56 victory over host Loyola Marymount.
Sure, Harris had 21 points to lead the Gauchos (7-1) to their best start since the 1992-93 season but even he knew the win had more to do with 24 LMU turnovers.
"It's all about playing with heart on the road," Harris said. "No flash. You win roadgames on the defensive end."
Continue reading "Learning The Elements Of A Road Victory" »
LOS ANGELES -- Loyola Marymount guard Shawn Deadwiler and UC Santa Barbara guard Alex Harris have both found their scoring touch in the second half. Deadwiler has 20 points and Harris has 19 while UCSB lead 57-53 with under two minutes in the game.
Harris tried to take the scoring lead too but missed a shot and then fouled Jon Ziri going for the rebound. Ziri goes to the line for a 1-and-1 situation to cut the lead to two points and missed the front end, which ended a streak of 12 consecutive made free throws.
It looked like a crucial miss too when Harris scored again to give UCSB a six-point lead. But Ziri made up for it with an offensive rebound that led to a Deadwiler 3-pointer. UCSB leads 59-56 with under a minute to play.
LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount have played 83 times with the Lions holding a 48-35 advantage, including a 21-9 lead at home. But if the Gauchos can hold onto their lead it would be their first win at Gersten Pavilion since 1993 and first win over LMU since 2000. LMU has won seven of the last 10 games between the Southern California teams.
LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara can't seem to pull away from Loyola Marymount, but it's shooting percentage has went through the roof. The Gauchos made 10 of their first 15 shots in the second half and their first five free throws. And that came after it missed 22 field goals and made just 4-of-7 free throws in the first half.
LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara seems to be handling its lack of height just fine, tied in rebounds 24-24, with Loyola Marymount and ahead, 49-42.
As for Loyola Marymount's point guard situation... well, it's clearly a work in progress. The Lions have 19 turnovers and while Quentin Turner has played well at the point, the Gauchos are forcing turnovers with their superior quickness at every position.
Offensive fouls are a problem for the Lions, who have at least four, including a couple of charge calls.
LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara just scored on a dunk by Ivan Elliott and it is shots such as those Gauchos coach Bob Williams needs to see more of from his team. It was not a great shooting performance in the first half for UC Santa Barbara, which made just 8-of-30 field goals for a measily 26.7 percent. Elliott's dunk was followed by a layup by Alex Harris, who is trying to heat up in the second half after making just 2-of-7 shots in first 20 minutes.
UC Santa Barbara holds a 38-31 lead over Loyola Marymount with under 15 minutes left in the game. The Lions defense can't afford to give up too many more easy shots if it wants to have a legitimate chance to win.
LOS ANGELES -- The second half just started and it looks like both offenses are ready to go. Loyola Marymount has two three-point plays this half and James Powell just hit a three-pointer to give UC Santa Barbara a 30-29 lead.
LOS ANGELES -- The first half just wrapped up and UC Santa Barbara guard Alex Harris is having some trouble with the Loyola Marymount defense. Harris is averaging 24 points per game this season (12th in the country) but so far has just eight points. Credit LMU guard Jon Ziri with leading the way to curtail the high-scoring guard, which probably has a lot to do with why the Gauchos are only ahead 23-21 at the halftime break.
LOS ANGELES -- UC Santa Barbara is doing a nice job of playing aggressive and using its superior quickness to pressure LMU into 10 turnovers but fouls could catch up. LMU will be in the double bonus the rest of way, trailing 16-13, with seven minutes left in the half. If LMU wants a chance to pull off the win, it's going to need to make a high percentage of those freebies.
LMU just drew a turnover with an offensive foul by Alex Harris and have a chance to take the lead, trailing UC Santa Barbara, 16-15.
LOS ANGELES -- Loyola Marymount coach Rodney Tention isn't a cartoon but he can be just as animated. The fiery third-year coach has been quite busy screaming at his team and the officials. Tention's team is getting pushed around a little bit and after one particular non-call, he slammed the scorer's table. The officials probably could have given him a technical but opted to issue him a warning.
His emotion seems to be splashing onto the floor as his team has rebounded from a five-minute scoreless span and now trail UC Santa Barbara, 16-12.
LOS ANGELES -- Both UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams and LMU coach Rodney Tention must handle a bit of a matchup issue in tonight's game. Tention has to figure out how his team is going to handle the Gauchos' pressure defense without a proven point guard while Williams has to make sure LMU doesn't use its superior size to dominate the glass.
LOS ANGELES -- The crowd isn't significantly bigger than Wednesday night - although it's clear the Loyola Marymount student section seems to have had some fun with the day's Homecoming events. Still, it's clear walking into Gersten Pavilion with the TV truck outside and the cameras above the court give this nonconference game with UC Santa Barbara a little extra excitement. Let's see if it impacts the game at all.
LMU just won the tip.
LOS ANGELES - Loyola Marymount coach Rodney Tention almost looked surprised when asked about the freshmen players for San Diego State.
"You couldn't tell by the way they played," he said about Billy White and DJ Gay, who both made a major impact on San Diego State's 78-56 nonconference win over Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion. "They were confident and executed the gameplan."
LOS ANGELES -- LMU tried to get back in it but San Diego State pulled away for an easy 78-56 win. The Lions ended up with 25 turnovers and the Aztecs accounted for 19 steals . Ryan Amoroso led the way for SDSU with 19 points and seven rebounds. Lorrenzo Wade added 18 points and four rebounds while DJ Gay had a career-high 11 points in the win.
Sean Deadwiler led LMU with 14 points and was the only Lions player to score in double digits. More to come.
LOS ANGELES - San Diego State coach Steve Fisher doesn't have a go-to guy like he did the past few seasons with Brandon Heath, the sensational shooting guard who played at Westchester High (which is just down the street from tonight's game at LMU). That doesn't mean the Aztecs don't look capable of enjoying a very good season.
DJ Gay and Richie Williams are both good point guards. Ryan Amoroso and Billy White are excellent around the basket and Lorrenzo Wade, who has 18 points tonight agianst LMU, is a solid small forward. Fisher has clearly done a nice job bringing in bouncebacks and mixing them with his high school recruits. Plus, he's recruiting Southern California very well. Gay could become a superstar as an upperclassman and players like Jer'Vaughn Johnson and Matt Thomas were commodities as high school players in the L.A. area.
The Aztecs are about to improve to 6-1 and while they might struggle against teams with any tall, talented post players, their athleticism should allow them to matchup with most teams.
LOS ANGELES -- No offense to Brian Lemos, who is clearly giving it his all, but things just don't sound right at Gersten Pavilion. Lemos is filling in as the public announcer (PA) for the Lions' home game against San Diego State tonight because long-time announcer Bernie Sandalow was unable to attend the game due to work obligations.
Sandalow has been announcing Lions' home games for 30 years, according to LMU media relations, and was courtside for the Paul Westhead era. Sandalow has joked on many occasions that he and the scoreboard operator were most overworked men in college basketball during the run-and-gun years with Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers. Unfortunately for him (and LMU), he couldn't say the same tonight. San Diego State has controlled it throughtout with a 57-44 lead with 10 minutes left in the contest.
LOS ANGELES -- Basketball can be a funny thing, especially at the college level where players come and go for all sorts of reasons. San Diego State was on the receiving end this year with transfer Ryan Amoroso coming to the Aztecs from Marquette while LMU might be wondering how much better it could have been if point guard Damian Martin hadn't decided to sign a pro contract in his native Australia.
LOS ANGELES - Steve Fisher will surely have some things for his San Diego State team to work on at halftime despite taking a commanding 43-26 lead into the break. But one thing he won't have too much room to complain about is his team's nine steals in the first half.
The Aztecs forced 13 turnovers and plucked nine of them on their own. It helps to have a speedy point guard like DJ Gay, who also had three 3-pointers in the first half.
LOS ANGELES -- San Diego State isn't an enormous team but 6-foot-8 forwards Ryan Amoroso and Billy White have been too much for Loyola Marymount in the first half. Amoroso, a junior transfer from Marquette has 10 points and five rebounds, while the freshman White has eight points and four rebounds. White is 3-for-3 from the field and made a pair of free throws. The pair of the Aztecs ahead, 38-22, with just over two minutes left in the first half.
LOS ANGELES -- After some technical difficulties (sorry about that), there's one thing which is clear - it doesn't take too many San Diego State fans to make a difference. Sure the Aztecs stormed to a 21-4 lead and now are up 25-12 but the SDSU fans (all 20 of them) tricked LMU junior guard Corey Counts into a rushed 3-point attempt with the old fake shot clock trick. That rushed shot didn't even hit the rim.
Too bad for LMU this game is at home at the renovated Gersten Pavilion, which looks very nice but isn't too loud right now. And its for good reason. Freshman DJ Gay, one of the top point guards in the L.A. City Section last year, already hit a 3-pointer and Steve Fisher's team is clearly much more athletic than a very young LMU squad.
