# 2023–24 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions, led by fourth-year head coach Stan Johnson, played their home games at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 12–19, 5–11 in WCC play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the WCC Tournament, they lost to Portland in the second round.

## Previous season

The Lions finished the 2022–23 season 19–12, 9–7 in WCC play to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WCC tournament to BYU.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jalin Anderson | 0 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Junior | Jackson, TN | Transferred to Ball State |
| Dameane Douglas | 1 | G/F | 6'7" | 205 | RS Senior | Hanford, CA | Left the team due to personal reasons |
| Justin Ahrens | 2 | G | 6'6" | 195 | GS Senior | Versailles, OH | Graduated |
| Chase Stephens | 3 | G | 6'3" | 170 | Freshman | Riverside, CA | Transferred to Maryland |
| Kwane Marble | 11 | G | 6'5" | 206 | Senior | Denver, CO | Graduate transferred to Niagara |
| James Nobles | 14 | G | 6'4" | 160 | RS Freshman | North Hollywood, CA | Transferred |
| Cameron Shelton | 20 | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Senior | Chino, CA | Graduated |
| Kian Nader | 40 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Junior | Tarzana, CA | Walk-on; transferred |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Justice Hill | 3 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Little Rock, AR | LSU |
| Will Johnston | 4 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Junior | Sydney, Australia | UTRGV |
| Justin Wright | 5 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Greenville, NC | North Carolina Central |
| Lars Thiemann | 15 | C | 7'1" | 260 | GS Senior | Krefeld, Germany | California |
| Dominick Harris | 55 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Junior | Murrieta, CA | Gonzaga |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Aaron McBride PF | Corona, CA | Centennial HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 1, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Jovan Ristic SF | Belgrade Serbia | Calusa Preparatory School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jul 6, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr Rivals: nr ESPN: nr ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Loyola Marymount Lions 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2023 Loyola Marymount Lions Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN 2023 Loyola Marymount Lions Basketball recruits". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Westcliff | W 109–68 | 1–0 | 18 – Merkviladze | 8 – Johnston | 5 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (1,430) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 12, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Yale | L 80–83 | 1–1 | 21 – Harris | 5 – Tied | 4 – Johnston | Gersten Pavilion (1,571) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jackson State | W 88–66 | 2–1 | 23 – Hill | 12 – Leaupepe | 8 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (1,015) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 19, 2023* 10:30 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Stephen F. Austin Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals | L 76–86 | 2–2 | 24 – Hill | 8 – Leaupepe | 4 – Leaupepe | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 20, 2023* 11:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Oakland Cayman Islands Classic Semifinals | L 69–74 | 2–3 | 22 – Johnston | 7 – Thiemann | 4 – Harris | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 21, 2023* 8:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. FIU Cayman Islands Classic 7th place game | W 61–60 | 3–3 | 15 – Wright | 8 – Wright | 2 – Tied | John Gray Gymnasium George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 25, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 67–47 | 4–3 | 20 – Wright | 9 – Merkviladze | 4 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (750) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Central Arkansas | W 90–63 | 5–3 | 31 – Harris | 7 – Wright | 7 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (752) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | at Nevada | L 59–73 | 5–4 | 15 – Johnston | 6 – Merkviladze | 4 – Johnston | Lawlor Events Center (7,851) Reno, NV |
| December 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | vs. UNLV Jack Jones Classic | W 78–75 | 6–4 | 28 – Harris | 9 – Merkviladze | 7 – Hill | Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV |
| December 16, 2023* 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. UC Santa Barbara Jerry Colangelo Classic | L 59–68 | 6–5 | 18 – Merkviladze | 9 – Merkviladze | 5 – Hill | Footprint Center Phoenix, AZ |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 76–56 | 7–5 | 19 – Wright | 11 – Graham | 6 – Wright | Gersten Pavilion (926) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 22, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 16 Colorado State | L 67–76 | 7–6 | 27 – Johnston | 5 – Issanza | 3 – Tied | Gersten Pavilion (1,365) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tarleton State | L 66–79 | 7–7 | 18 – Wright | 5 – Tied | 4 – Johnston | Gersten Pavilion (818) Los Angeles, CA |
| WCC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Santa Clara | L 57–68 | 7–8 (0–1) | 14 – Leaupepe | 9 – Merkviladze | 3 – Harris | Gersten Pavilion (958) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 6, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Mary's | L 64–68 | 7–9 (0–2) | 19 – Johnston | 7 – Leaupepe | 6 – Johnston | Gersten Pavilion (1,566) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Pacific | W 81–64 | 8–9 (1–2) | 22 – Wright | 11 – Merkviladze | 2 – Tied | Gersten Pavilion (1,122) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 18, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at San Francisco | L 74–90 | 8–10 (1–3) | 22 – Harris | 9 – Merkviladze | 4 – Leaupepe | War Memorial Gymnasium (1,849) San Francisco, CA |
| January 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Pepperdine | W 68–61 | 9–10 (2–3) | 16 – Harris | 8 – Leaupepe | 5 – Johnston | Firestone Fieldhouse (927) Malibu, CA |
| January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Portland | W 92–65 | 10–10 (3–3) | 25 – Merkviladze | 10 – Merkviladze | 8 – Wright | Gersten Pavilion (991) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Saint Mary's | L 65–70 | 10–11 (3–4) | 15 – Tied | 6 – Leaupepe | 5 – Hill | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) Moraga, CA |
| January 30, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Gonzaga | L 58–92 | 10–12 (3–5) | 14 – Hill | 7 – Wright | 3 – Wright | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at San Diego | L 77–79 | 10–13 (3–6) | 19 – Hill | 8 – Tied | 5 – Hill | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,003) San Diego, CA |
| February 10, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Pepperdine | L 63–72 | 10–14 (3–7) | 17 – Merkviladze | 9 – Merkviladze | 5 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (1,607) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Gonzaga | L 74–91 | 10–15 (3–8) | 33 – Johnston | 7 – Thiemann | 7 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (2,827) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 17, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | San Francisco | L 59–82 | 10–16 (3–9) | 24 – Merkviladze | 12 – Merkviladze | 4 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (2,057) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 22, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Santa Clara | L 55–65 | 10–17 (3–10) | 19 – Wright | 13 – Merkviladze | 2 – Wright | Leavey Center (2,385) Santa Clara, CA |
| February 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Pacific | W 86–63 | 11–17 (4–10) | 24 – Hill | 12 – Merkviladze | 7 – Hill | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,959) Stockton, CA |
| February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | San Diego | W 96–62 | 12–17 (5–10) | 26 – Johnston | 13 – Graham | 6 – Hill | Gersten Pavilion (1,113) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 2, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Portland | L 60–70 | 12–18 (5–11) | 16 – Hill | 7 – Tied | 7 – Merkviladze | Chiles Center (1,165) Portland, OR |
| WCC tournament |||||||||
| March 8, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (6) Portland Second round | L 70–78 | 12–19 | 20 – Hill | 8 – Tied | 6 – Hill | Orleans Arena (2,181) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |||||||||
Source