Loyola Marymount vs. Pacific Preview

If the Loyola Marymount Lions haven’t created a list of any New Year’s resolutions yet, they better get busy coming up with some ways to start 2015 on the right foot. Because 2014 hasn’t been all too kind to LMU, as they currently hold a 4-9 record and are 0-1 in conference play, losing to Pepperdine last Monday.

The Lions are hoping to equalize that conference record as they host the Pacific Tigers on Thursday, January 1 at 4:00 pm ET.

And the way they’re going to do that is by getting bountiful contributions from their entire roster. Far too often this year, the Lions have played basketball as a one-man pack. Evan Payne has been LMU’s superstar, leading the team in scoring with 19.7 PPG. But not enough of his teammates have consistently matched or come close to his offensive production.

It got better in their last game against Pepperdine, though, as Marin Mornar and Patson Siame both made significant contributions on both ends of the floor for the Lions. If these two can keep that momentum going into Thursday’s game, LMU has a good shot at picking up their first conference victory of the season.

More from West Coast Convo

And much like Loyola Marymount, Pacific has yet to pick up a win in the WCC, having lost to San Francisco and Santa Clara. Sophomore guard T.J. Wallace has been stellar for the Tigers, averaging 14.3 PPG and 6.0 RPG. Wallace, though he’s struggled at times, has been great for Pacific, scoring 26 points against San Francisco and 24 points in their matchup against the almost-perfect Washington Huskies.

There’s going to be some entertaining guard play as Wallace and Payne square off for the first time this season. As two of the premier guards in the WCC, they should make for an intriguing matchup as both teams will be fighting for their first conference win of the year.

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