At this stage in the season, basketball is mostly about building stats and gauging team dynamics; it is a review of the coach’s curriculum and a study of school spirit. The LMU Lions were mostly well-matched in their first nonconference game until an untimely defeat by the Cal Golden Bears late in the second half. The opposing team drew about as large a crowd as the home team, unfortunately for the even keel, but restful spirit of our basketball players.
This was the seventh game in which LMU challenged the University of California, Berkeley. Seven-year Head Coach Stan Johnson managed a strategy of elaborate techniques that the players seemed mostly to engineer themselves that moved the crowds but left the players in foul-heavy gameplay on both sides.
It began with the familiar sound of sneakers racing across the Main Zone; junior guard All Wright, senior forward Aaron McBride, and fifth year forward Jevon Porter led the Lions, increasingly defending the ball as the opponents rallied around the Bears’ forward Jake Wilkins.
The Lions’ teamwork was noteworthy, and every player seemed to get a chance to school the other team in dunks, reversals, and fancy footwork. Coach Johnson directed the players to take as many opportunities jabbing the Bears along the left flank to score shots. But he ignored the Lions’ open center just when the action started to rise, so that LMU edged just ahead before halftime.
The DJ jammed to his own beats to get the pep rally going. The Lions’ cheerleaders pranced and danced across the court in three different colors and outfit combinations, tossed merch to some of the same people in the crowd, gave free pizza and Raising Cane’s for sponsorship and social media, and generally looked into the camera grinning!
The numbers game proceeded in the second half with more Gatorade and Monster Energy drinks discarded for recycling in LMU’s green sustainability plan. (See Global citizenship, cura personalis, alma mater.) Iggy the Lion continued bouncing around the gymnasium cheering with audience whenever the home team hit a 3-pointer or the opposing team missed a layup. Aggressive man-to-man defense proved too showy for the Bears play to wear down the Lions using in-n-out layouts, but Wright, Porter, and junior guard Zion Sensley took the Lion’s share of scored points, accumulating 30 total between them alone, with Wright leading the home team, finishing with 14 points. The Lions are well-balanced and talented enough to have won this non-conference meetup, but in the confusion failed to LET THEM HEAR YOU ROAR! In the end, the opposing team got LMU on technicalities, penalties, and free shots in the bonus to reach a 60-59 defeat.
We have another round of hoops Oct 25 against the UCSB Gauchos; for broadcast schedules and recordings, click here. The women’s round of nonconferences continues on Nov 10 against Life Pacific University; for broadcasts and recordings, click here. The Tip Off Club (@lmulionsMBB) enjoys the most benefits by investing in the growth of raw talent in the student-athlete experience, and they love to see us engage and support.
Disclaimer: All regular-season LMU Athletics home events are free for current students with a valid OneCard.
Let’s stand up together this time and ROAR!
