LMU @ Portland, Thursday 2/9, 8pm

PilotDrummer wrote:Hopefully we will see improvement on 1) Free-throws and 2) minimizing turnovers, as those were the big deals against BYU, it seems like.

Portland Pilots (6-18, 3-8 ) vs. LMU Lions (15-9, 8-3)

Date: Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012
Tip-off: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Arena: Chiles Center (4,852)
Television: CSN-NW
Radio: 800 AM
Overall Series: 40-45
At UP: 25-15
At LMU: 13-25
At Neutral: 2-5
Last: LMU 62, POR 59 (January 28, 2012 at LMU)

COMING UP
• Portland (6-18, 3-8 WCC) looks to even the season series against West Coast Conference rival Loyola Marymount (15-9, 8-3) on Thursday at the Chiles Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest with Scott Lynn and Bob Weiss calling the action.
• The Lions edged the Pilots by a 62-59 margin on Jan. 28 in Los Angeles. A Jarred DuBois three-pointer with 17 seconds left in regulation proved to be the game-winner.
• All Portland basketball games will be broadcast live on True Talk 800 AM, with a 30-minute pregame show. Bill Johnson will provide the play-by-play and an audio simulcast will also be available on www.PilotsVideo.com.


TICKETS
• Tickets are still available for Portland’s two remaining home games.
• Fans can get tickets through all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, or through the Pilot Box Office (M-F, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.). Tickets may also be purchased at the door 90 minutes prior to tipoff each game. Call the Pilot Box Office at (503) 943-7525 with any questions.


ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
• The Lions (15-9, 8-3 WCC) scored 60 second half points, including 10-for-13 from the three-point line, to erase a 16-point deficit and earn a 90-88 win over San Francisco on Saturday.
• LMU also knocked off Pepperdine (67-57) last Thursday and have now won five of its last six games.
• On Jan. 28 in Los Angeles, Portland dropped a 62-59 heartbreaker to the Lions when Jarred DuBois hit a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to break a tie and win the game.
• The Lions are tied for third in the WCC with BYU, sitting a half-game behind Gonzaga for second place.
• LMU is 7-2 overall on the road this season, including a perfect 5-0 in WCC road contests. The Lions remaining road games are against the Pilots, Gonzaga and No. 16 Saint Mary’s.
• Signature non-conference wins for the Lions came against UCLA (69-58) and Saint Louis (75-68), while an 82-68 romp at BYU was a key league win. LMU also lost games to Florida State (77-61) and Harvard 77-67.
• Senior F Drew Viney, who was named to the WCC Preseason All-Conference Team, is averaging 15.7 points per game. Sophomore PG Anthony Ireland adds 15.1 ppg and is third in the WCC with 4.9 assists per game.
• Max Good is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Lions and posts a 47-71 overall record.
• Portland owns an 8-5 record over LMU under head coach Eric Reveno.
• The Pilots won both regular season meetings a season ago, but the Lions knocked UP out of the WCC Tournament with a 72-68 win in the quarterfinals.


LINEUP NOTES
• Senior PG Eric Waterford (knee) is out for Thursday.
• Sophomore C Riley Barker has missed the last 17 games (knee) and is also out.
• Head coach Eric Reveno has used eight different starting lineups this year.
• Sophomore Ryan Nicholas is the only Pilot to start all 24 games this year, while 11 different Pilots have started at least one game.
• Three different freshmen have started at least four games.

blacksheep wrote:I'm not sure what Ken Pomeroy thinks because I 'm too cheap to send him money, but RealTimeRPI has UP winning tonight.

PurpleGeezer wrote:The WCC is a curious place when a 2-7 team with a 262 RPI is favored over a 7-2 team with a 110 RPI.

PilotNut wrote:Let's hope we can execute down the stretch and grab the W!

Viney leads four players in double figures through 24 games, although he's appeared in just 14, posting 15.7 ppg on the strength of his 46.0 percent shooting behind the three-point line. Ireland checks in with 15.1 ppg and is also the one who gets his teammates involved the most with his 117 assists. Defensively, the Lions enter this week as one of the nation's top three-point shooting defenses, allowing opponents to make good on only 28.9 percent of their chances.

For all the years that the Lions have been beaten up by the rest of the WCC, now is the time for them to exact some revenge and seeing as how the team is 7-2 on the road (in WCC play), it shouldn't be that tough of a time for them in Oregon tonight.

PilotNut wrote:The "old folks" side was better tonight, but my goodness, where were the students?!

Late night watchin film, back to office early. Keep building. Great opportunities remain next few wks. Long term future brighter than ever.

DJ Sherman wrote:Another example of how bad it went in the student section: I had two LMU fans sitting behind me the entire second half, one of which gave me actually asked if I would be standing the entire time. I tried to ignore them as best as I could, but the mocking of the team and my occasional efforts continued.

After one LMU basket, the guy behind me remarked it would have been nice if he could have seen the play but apparently, I had blocked his view.

I pointed out several other seats IN THE STUDENT SECTION and elsewhere in Chiles he could have sat where I would not have blocked his view, inculding one seat to his right.

He cursed me out to his compatriot but really, you sit in a section containing individuals half to a third of your age and you are surprised you might not get a positive reaction, especially if you are rooting for the opponent!

Lions Complete Season Sweep of Pilots

PORTLAND, Ore. --- Sophomores Ryan Nicholas and Tanner Riley each scored 13 points for Portland, but the Loyola Marymount Lions shot 58 percent from the field in the second half en route to a 76-62 win on Thursday before 2, 067 fans at the Chiles Center.

Freshman Kevin Bailey and sophomore Tim Douglas added 11 points apiece for the Pilots (6-19, 3-9 WCC).

The Lions (16-9, 9-3) moved into sole possession of third place in the West Coast Conference standings with the win. LMU had five players score in double figures, led by senior Drew Viney with 16 points. The Lions, who scored 60 second half points in a comeback win on Saturday against San Francisco, lit it up again in the second half on Thursday by finishing the period 6-of-9 on three-pointers and outscoring the Pilots, 47-37.

In the previous meeting between the two teams, the Lions escaped with a 62-59 win in Los Angeles. Rebounding was the difference then as LMU held a 34-26 margin on the boards and 15-6 edge in second chance points. The theme continued on Thursday as the Lions outrebounded the Pilots 33-23 and held a 14-2 margin in second chance points.

The Pilots shot 43 percent from the field for the game, made 7-of-22 three-pointers and 9-of-11 free throws. LMU finished the game at 51 percent from the floor, made 10-of-19 threes and 16-of-24 free throws.

The Lions jumped out to an early 21-7 lead after drilling four early three-pointers, but the Pilots were able to bring the deficit back to single digits. Portland junior Derrick Rodgers hit a half court buzzer beater to bring the Pilots within four at 29-25 at intermission.

Back-to-back three-pointers by LMU’s C.J. Blackwell gave the Lions at 47-36 lead with 14:00 remaining, but the Pilots would cut the margin to five at 60-55 on a three by Riley with 6:08 left. That would be as close as Portland would get as LMU extended the lead with free throws in the closing minutes.

Portland will get the weekend off before embarking on a Southern California road trip next week. The Pilots will be at San Diego on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. (CSN Northwest), before visiting Pepperdine on Saturday at 7 p.m. (FSN Prime Ticket live, tape-delayed at 10:30 p.m. on CSN Northwest). Both games will be broadcast on True Talk 800 AM (KPDQ).