USF Men's Basketball Hosts Loyola Marymount Saturday Night

Jan. 30, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

USF WELCOMES LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: San Francisco closes the first half of the West Coast Conference schedule when it welcomes Loyola Marymount to the Hilltop on Saturday. Both teams seek their first league win of the campaign and one team is guaranteed to emerge with the elusive victory. The Dons enter the showdown with the Lions reeling after a disappointing 69-67 loss to Pepperdine and look to bounce back against LMU, a team with just one win in 2008-09. The Lions suffered a 82-56 loss at Santa Clara on Thursday night at the Leavey Center.

LOWHORN 30TH DON TO 1,000 POINTS: Junior forward Dior Lowhorn continues to charge up the USF career scoring lists and became the 30th USF player to surpass 1,000 career points in the Green and Gold with 22 points at Portland (1/15/09). Lowhorn enters Saturday's contest against Loyola Marymount with 1,059 career points in 52 games for a 20.4 points per game average. The Bay Area product currently rates 26th on the Dons all-time scoring ladder and needs 72 points to crack the top-20. Lowhorn is the second USF player to reach the milestone this season. Senior guard Manny Quezada (1,061) accomplished the feat at Boston College (12/29/08).

USF AT A GLANCE
- USF's offense ranks fourth among WCC Team Leaders in scoring (67.5), 3-point field goal percentage at .359 (138-380) and assists (12.62)
- Dons averaging 14.1 turnovers per game and rank fourth in the WCC in assist/turnover ratio (0.89)
- Junior forward Dior Lowhorn leads WCC in scoring (20.1)
- USF has played just four of its last 14 games at home

DONS PARTICIPATE IN THE JESUIT BASKETBALL SPOTLIGHT: USF is proud of its rich Jesuit heritage and the Dons West Coast Conference game against Loyola Marymount - features a Jesuit opponent. San Francisco is taking part in the Jesuit Spotlight Project this season, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of the outstanding education available at the nation's 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. For more information, log on to www.ajcunet.edu/jesuitbasketball.

USF DONS BASKETBALL ON GREEN 960 AM: USF men's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2008-2009 season and all games will be available live at USFDons.com, with the bulk of the schedule available on Green 960 AM. Join Pat Olson for the play-by-play in his 18th year behind the microphone courtside. USF Hall-of-Famer Jim Brovelli will join Olson on selected broadcasts. Other features available on USFDons.com include live scoring via GameTracker, courtesy of CBS Sports.

COACHES VS. CANCER SUITS & SNEAKERS: USF head coach Rex Walters and his staff will wear sneakers with their suits Saturday night against Loyola Marymount as they take part in this year's "Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend." The "Coaches vs. Cancer" is a nationwide collaboration that was adopted in 1993 by the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to empower basketball coaches, teams, and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer. To date, more than 500 college coaches participate in "Coaches vs. Cancer." Since 1993, the program has raised nearly $45 million to help the American Cancer Society. For more information, log on to cancer.org.

JOE ELLIS - USF'S INAUGURAL INDUCTEE INTO WEST COAST CONFERENCE HALL OF HONOR: Six of the WCC's all-time greatest athletes and two of the conference's top coaches headline the WCC's inaugural Hall of Honor class. The members will formally be inducted at the 2009 WCC Hall of Honor Brunch on Saturday, March 7 at the Orleans Arena and honored the next day during halftime of the first men's basketball semifinal game on March 8.

USF's inaugural inductee is former NBA and Dons star Joe Ellis (1963-66), who led the Green and Gold to three postseason trips, including a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. One of a long line of Dons from Oakland's McClymonds High School, Ellis helped lift USF to a No. 6 national ranking during the 1964-65 campaign. Ellis ranks in the USF career top-25 in scoring (21, 1,120) and rebounding (11, 737) in just three varsity seasons.

A three-time All-WCC First Team selection, the 6'6", 175 pound, Ellis departed USF as the third leading scorer in program history (1,120), earned Northern California Player of the Year accolades and All American honorable mention selection. He was also one of four juniors chosen in 1965 to represent the United States in the World University Games. Inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1973, Ellis was named one of 75 "Legends of the Hilltop" in 2006 for the 150th anniversary of the University of San Francisco.

Upon graduation, Ellis was selected by the San Francisco Warriors in the second round (13th pick overall) of the 1966 NBA Draft. The Oakland native averaged double-figure scoring averages in three successive seasons, including a career-best 15.8 points per game in 1969-70. In eight NBA seasons - all with the Warriors - Ellis scored 4,825 points, averaging 8.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

DONS AND LIONS
- USF squares off against Loyola Marymount for the 134th time in the all-time series dating to 1923-24.
- The Dons have won three of their last four vs. LMU and own a 15-5 record against the Lions since 2000.
- Dior Lowhorn averaged 23.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg, Manny Quezada added 21.7 ppg and 5.1 apg and Vince Polakovic added 17.0 points vs. the Lions in 2008.
- USF won its first WCC Tournament game since 2004 with a 79-60 win against LMU in first round of the 2008 event.
- USF owns a 46-15 all-time slate vs. LMU in San Francisco.
- Dons legend Jimmy Needles collected the first win in the series - a 32-8 triumph in 1924.

GAME #22, WCC GAME #7 - SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: The Lions wrap up the fourth week of West Coast Conference play with an 1-21 overall record and a 0-6 mark in league action. Loyola Marymount enters its game with USF on a six-game losing streak and is winless on the road this season at 0-12. Featuring one of the youngest starting lineups in the country, the Lions average 54.9 points on .349 shooting, including a .288 clip from beyond the arc, to go along with 32.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Vernon Teel keys LMU's offense, averaging 15.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Jared Dubois has started all 22 games for the Lions and chips in 13.4 points and 2.9 assists, while freshman forward LaRon Armstead adds 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Coaching veteran Max Good is in his first season as the top Lion after taking over for Bill Bayno who resigned January 12. Good owns an overall record of 242-241 in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 1/30/09):

Team	PPG	Margin	FG%	3-FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	TOPG	SPG	BPG
USF	67.5	-2.8	.444	.359	.684	31.0	12.6	14.1	5.6	2.3
LMU	54.9	-18.0	.349	.288	.716	32.7	9.5	15.8	5.6	1.7

LMU PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/30/09)
G. #00 Jared Dubois, 6-3, Fr. (13.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.9 apg)
G. #1 Corey Counts, 6-1, Sr. (8.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.6 apg)
F. #12 Marko Deric, 6-9, Sr. (3.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.6 apg)
F. #24 LaRon Armstead, 6-5, Fr. (9.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.3 apg)
F. #40 Kevin Young, 6-8, Fr. (8.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.1 bpg)

2007-08 MEETINGS: USF 79, LMU 60 - WCC Tournament First Round (3/7/08); at USF 88, LMU 79 (3/1/08); at LMU 72, USF 67 (2/4/08)

SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 99-34/USF won two

ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:
Television Broadcast: None
Radio Broadcast: Green 960
Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast)
GameTracker: Yes
Loyola Marymount Official Website: LMULions.com

UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: San Francisco opens the second half of the 2009 West Coast Conference schedule on the road when it travels across the Bay Bridge to take on No. 18 Saint Mary's Thursday, February 5 in McKeon Pavilion. Tip-off time against the Gaels is set for 8:30 PM in a game televised live on Comcast. The Dons then head south to tackle San Diego Saturday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Tip-off time against the Toreros is set for 6:00 PM and the contest will be carried live in the Bay Area on Comcast. Both games will be available on Green 960.

TUNE IN TO THE Rex Walters SHOW: Each Monday from now until the end of the season, USF head coach Rex Walters will do a coaches show, hosted by veteran voice of the Dons Pat Olson. The show will provide a recap of the previous week's action along with a preview of the upcoming West Coast Conference contests.The third show is now available, courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast.

Dior Lowhorn - 2008 WCC FIRST TEAM AND LEAGUE SCORING LEADER: After sitting out the entire 2006-07 season under NCAA transfer rules, junior forward Dior Lowhorn made up for lost time in his first season in the Green and Gold. The Texas Tech transfer and Bay Area native turned in a prolific sophomore campaign for the Dons and led the West Coast Conference in scoring in overall (20.5) and WCC (20.5) contests - the first USF player to pace the league in scoring in both categories since John Cox accomplished the feat in 2004-05 (20.0/19.9). Lowhorn scored 636 points last season, good for fourth place on the Dons single-season scoring charts. A 2008 Mid-Major All-American and a All-WCC First Team pick - the first USF underclassmen tabbed since Gerald Walker in 1995 - Lowhorn scored at least 20 points in 18 games, including a career-high 29 at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Lowhorn led the Dons with five double-double nights last season and scored 19 points six times and was the only USF player to reach double-digit scoring in every game. Lowhorn was named to the 2008-09 WCC Preseason Team, as selected by the league's head coaches.

Dior Lowhorn AMONG NATIONAL SCORING LEADERS: Junior forward Dior Lowhorn ranked No. 27 among final 2007-08 NCAA Division I scoring leaders at 20.5 points per game. Lowhorn is the first Don to crack the top-30 on the NCAA scoring list since John Cox (1999-05) did so as a senior. Lowhorn (19.8) ranked No. 28 among Division I leaders as of January 25, 2009.

LOWHORN SURPASSES 1,250 CAREER POINTS: With a 23-point night at USC (12/1/08) junior forward Dior Lowhorn surpassed 1,000 combined career points and enters Saturday's contest against LMU with 1,289 points with 1,059 coming at USF and 230 at Texas Tech. Last year, the San Franciscan ranked fourth in USF single-season scoring history in his first year on the Hilltop, finishing with 636 points.

Manny Quezada SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Senior guard Manny Quezada enjoyed a solid second season on the Hilltop, averaging 13.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. For his efforts, Quezada earned 2008 WCC Honorable Mention selection, ranking third among WCC assists leaders (4.6) and fourth in turnover to assist ratio (1.57) during league games. Quezada notched his second career 30-point game with a 30-point outburst at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07) and turned in his first double-double at Pepperdine (2/2/08) with 11 points and a career-high 12 assists. After scoring 17 points at Boston College (12/29/08), Quezada became the 29th USF player to surpass 1,000 career points, and enters Saturday's game against LMU with 1,061 points good for 25th on the career scoring list. Next up is All-American James Hardy (1975-78), who scored 1,075 in three seasons.

DONS TWO-HEADED MONSTER: USF relied heavily on the one-two punch of sophomore forward Dior Lowhorn and junior guard Manny Quezada last season and figure to count on them once again in 2008-09. Last year the duo combined for 39 of San Francisco's 55 points in a 71-55 loss at Oklahoma (11/9/07), accounting for a remarkable .701 of the team's offensive output. The pair combined for a season-high 59 points at No. 12 Oregon (11/24/07). Last year in 31 games, Lowhorn and Quezada accounted for 34.4 points per game - .515 of the Dons total offense. Through 21 games in 2008-09, the duo averages 30.8 points per game, .456 of the team's output.

NEW FACES PRODUCING IN THE DONS BACKCOURT: Three backcourt newcomers are making their presence felt for USF in their first year in the Green and Gold. Freshman East Bay product Kwame Vaughn ranks third on the team in scoring through 21 games at 10.0 per contest with 3.3 rebounds after a career-high 22 points at San Jose State (12/22/08). Junior Dontae Bryant adds 4.0 points and rates second on the team in assists at 2.8. Freshman guard Chris O'Brien has started 13 games for USF and adds strong defense to go along with 3.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest. As a group, the newcomer guard trio averages 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.

DONS DOING IT WITH BALANCE: With 21 games in the books for the 2008-09 season, USF's offense is sharing the scoring load. Four Dons average better than 8.5 points per game, led by junior forward Dior Lowhorn (20.1). Senior guard Manny Quezada (10.6), freshman guard Kwame Vaughn (10.0), and junior forward Blake Wallace (8.6) lead the balanced USF offensive assault.