Lions’ Elite Eight team of 1989-90, including its first 20-win season, the most conference wins (11), most home wins (12), and the best road record (9-4), defeating a pair of ranked teams away from home (UCLA, Saint Mary’s). The 21 wins was the fourth most in school history and the 11 WCC wins is tied with the 1967-68 team for the third most. The Lions won a pair of games in the postseason, the first postseason wins since that Elite Eight team. Good was named WCC Coach of the Year following the Lions’ success that season. • In 2012-13, LMU men’s basketball earned three straight wins at the WCC Championships to advance to the semifinals for the second time in four years. BYU excluded, only LMU, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have gone to the quarterfinals and beyond in each of the last four WCC tournaments. INTERNATIONAL CONNECTION The Lions’ roster in 2013-14 will have a strong international flavor that includes Nigeria natives Godwin Okonji and Ayodeji Egbeyemi, Marin Mornar from Croatia and newcomer Patson Siame, who is from Luanshya, Zambia. A big reason behind the Lions’ international push has been Associate Head Coach Myke Scholl. Scholl, who holds a law degree from Maryland, has worked with basketball programs in the U.S. Virgin Islands, at the junior college level in northern California, with the South Africa National and Under-20 teams, the Senegal Men’s National Team, with a professional team in South Africa and as a scout for the Detroit Pistons. Eight years prior to LMU, Scholl was the Director of Sports and International Programs for Miles and Associates International in Johannesburg, South Africa. He managed the creation and implementation of the largest HIV and AIDS prevention campaigns in the world called “Love Life,” funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kaiser Foundation. He was also active in the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program, and he established the first national high school basketball league in South Africa with 1,800 boys and 1,800 girls teams that included more than 42,000 participants. He also supervised the construction and development of 500 basketball courts throughout Africa, developed a high school basketball league and motivational program in South Africa, Zambia, Uganda and Kenya.
quarterfinals. He was named first-team All-District as a junior. Cartwright, a 5-11 point guard, led Compton to a 20-11 record overall and a 9-3 mark in league play as a junior. He averaged 12 points and seven assists last year, earning First-Team All-Moore League honors and Daily Breeze All-Area honors. Stewart, a 6-5 combo guard/forward, helped the Comets go 29-7 record on the season and a 65-57 win over El Camino Real in the city championship. In the title game, he hit a pair of three-pointers and had 10 points. In the quarterfinals, he led the very balanced Comets with 16 points in the 74-41 win over Taft. The Comets advanced to the Open Division Regional Semifinals and Stewart went on to earn second-team All-Western League. LIONS IN OT LMU is 37-46 in overtime games after falling to Santa Clara in the first overtime game of 2013-14. The Lions went 2-1 in 2012-13, getting the second win in the second round win over USF. They went 4-0 in overtime in 2011-12, the first time in program history the Lions won four overtime games in a single season. The Lions are 9-4 in overtime games under Head Coach Max Good, defeating Idaho State twice, San Francisco and Weber State in 2011-12. The first overtime game in LMU history came in the 1926-27 season against California Christian College, a 16-14 win for the Lions. The longest game in LMU history was a five-overtime affair against Fresno State in 1957. The Lions lost 92-90. AGAINST THE RANKED For the first time since 1989, the Lions faced the nation’s top-ranked team when they faced Gonzaga in the WCC semifinals. Fittingly, the last time the Lions had to face a No. 1 was actually in Las Vegas. In the historic 1989-90 season, LMU would open with preseason No. 1 UNLV on Nov. 15, 1989, falling 102-91. LMU has played a No. 1 (AP only) six times, five of them coming against conference foe San Francisco. The Lions are 4-7 in their last 10 games against ranked opponents, falling to ranked Gonzaga three times in 2012-13. The Lions went 3-2 in 2011-12 against ranked opponents, earning a win at #16 Saint Mary’s on Feb. 15. The five ranked opponents was the most since the 2008-09 season when they played five.
NEWEST LIONS LMU men’s basketball signed three high school standouts during the early signing period in November, receiving signed National Letters of Intent from Devin Wyatt, a 6-7 forward of De Soto High School in De Soto, Tex., Compton point guard Kyron Cartwright and Westchester guard Elijah Stewart. All will join LMU in the fall of 2014. Wyatt helped anchor a power-house program in De Soto High School, helping the team all the way to the Class 5A Region
2013-14 MEN’S BASKETBALL ROSTER No Name Pos Ht Wt Yr-Exp 0 Alozie ERONDU G 6-3 200 Jr.-HS# 1 Evan PAYNE G 6-2 195 Fr.-HS 2 C.J. BLACKWELL F 6-5 235 So.-1V^ 3 Anthony IRELAND G 5-10 175 Sr.-3V 10 Ben DICKINSON F 6-9 230 So.-RS^ 11 Nick STOVER F 6-6 195 So.-1V 12 Blair MENDY G 6-3 170 Fr.-HS#* 14 Patson SIAME F 6-11 225 Fr.-HS* 15 Alex OSBORNE F 6-8 240 Sr.-3V^ 20 Jarrett ELLIS G 6-2 150 Fr.-HS# 21 Max HELLER G 5-9 170 So.-TR# 22 Godwin OKONJI F 6-8 220 Sr.-3V* 23 Chase FLINT G 6-1 180 Jr.-1V 24 Ayodeji EGBEYEMI G 6-4 210 Sr.-3V* 32 Gabe LEVIN F 6-7 230 Fr.-HS 42 Marin MORNAR F 6-9 205 So.-1V
Hometown (Previous School) Simi Valley, CA (Groton School) Akron, OH (Kingdom Christian Aca.) Los Angeles, CA (Taft HS) Waterbury, CT (Winchedon School) Alexandria, VA (Binghamton/Gonzaga HS) Los Angeles, CA (Windward HS) San Jose, CA (Bellarmine Prep) Luanshya, Zambia (Trinity International - NV) Los Angeles, CA (Pacific Hills HS) Redlands, CA (East Valley HS) San Diego, CA (Arizona St.) Lagos, Nigeria (Findlay College Prep - NV) Fruit Heights, UT (Eastern Utah/Davis HS) Lagos, Nigeria (National Christian Academy) Oak Park, IL (St. Thomas More School - CT) Zagreb, Croatia (Consortium College Prep - MI)
Major Biochemistry Liberal Arts Undeclared Sociology African American Studies English Communication Studies Economics Liberal Arts Undeclared M.A. Educational Studies Undeclared Political Science Urban Studies Communication Studies Finance Psychology Civil Engineering
^ - Has used redshirt season. * - WIll redshirt and/or sit-out rest of 2013-14. # - Walk-on
HEAD COACH: Max Good (6th Year, Eastern Kentucky, ’69/’70) ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH: Myke Scholl (6th Year, Ohio Wesleyan, ’91) ASSISTANT COACH: Tom Abatemarco (1st Year, Dowling, ‘74) ASSISTANT COACH: Senque Carey (1st Year, New Mexico, ‘04) DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS: Alex Schilter (2nd Year, Wash. St., ‘12) STRENGTH COACH: Drew Rossi (3rd Year, UMass, ‘07) ASST. AD - ATHLETIC TRAINER: Keith Ellison (19th Year, LMU, ‘87/’06)
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Ayodeji EGBEYEMI I-YO-day-ghee • EGG-by-emmy Godwin OKONJI GOD-win • OH-con-gee Marin MORNAR MAR (like bar)-in • MORE-nar Patson SIAME Sigh-AM-eee Alozie EROUNDU AH-low-zee • Ur-on-DO SENQUE Carey SIN-Q Tom ABATEMARCO Ah-bait-ah-MARCO
LMU Men’s Basketball • 2013-14 Game Notes • www.LMULions.com • #LMULions
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