GAME NOTES: Looking to stretch their win streak to three games to start the season, the Arizona State Sun Devils will play host to the Loyola Marymount Lions in a non-conference battle at Wells Fargo Arena.

Loyola Marymount opened its season with the LMU Classic, and defeated Southeast Missouri State to start the 2014-15 campaign. The West Coast Conference Lions then dropped a next-day contest to Boise State, 77-69, to even their record.

Arizona State was in action on opening night Friday, as the Sun Devils took down Chicago State easily, 86-50, then struggled a bit more Monday with Bethune-Cookman, eventually winning in a low-scoring 49-39 affair.

This meeting will be the 22nd in the history between Loyola Marymount and Arizona State. The Sun Devils own a slim 12-9 all-time series lead over the Lions.

It was LMU that controlled the opening half against the Broncos, leading Boise State at halftime by a 35-31 score. But the Broncos came roaring back in the second half behind 58.3 percent shooting and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. Evan Payne came off the bench to lead the Lions in scoring, dropping in 22 points with five assists in the contest. Godwin Okonji notched a double- double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Marin Mornar chipped in with 13 points of his own. LMU shot a respectable 46.2 percent from the floor in the loss, but it was the team's second-half defense that did the Lions in.

In two games (with zero starts), Payne leads the Lions in scoring with an average of 22.5 ppg. The 6-foot-1 sophomore has been to the charity stripe 15 times already, and has earned 12 points there in two games. Mornar is the only other LMU player to have a scoring average in double figures so far with 11.5 ppg. Okonji leads the Lions with a 7.5 rpg mark, while Patson Siame adds 5.5 rpg off the bench. The team has shot well from the floor, connecting on 49.5 percent of its field goal tries this season.

If you want to see an ugly offensive performance, look no further than the contest Arizona State played against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Bethune-Cookman. The Pac-12 Conference Sun Devils held the Wildcats to 20.8 percent shooting in the first half (5-of-24 from the field) and 31.8 percent shooting in the game. Meanwhile the Sun Devils themselves managed just 37.8 percent shooting in the contest, adding an 8-of-22 pace from 3-point range. Eric Jacobsen notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead ASU, while Jonathan Gilling came off the bench to score 11 points with six boards. The two teams combined for 36 turnovers in the contest.

Jacobsen and Shaquielle McKissic are atop the team's scoring leaderboard with 10.5 ppg averages each. Jacobsen has brought down 8.0 rpg through the first two contests, and has also managed to block five shots. ASU has netted 67.5 ppg through two games, and has held opponents to a very low 44.5 ppg on 32 percent shooting. That includes a 19.4 percent shooting touch for opponents from 3- point range (they are 7-of-36 from distance so far this season).

There's no way Arizona State can maintain the gaudy defensive statistics it has racked up through two games. Bethune-Cookman helped those numbers along greatly with a horrific offensive performance. Loyola Marymount's 2013-14 season was anything but positive, but the Lions can certainly gain some serious momentum with a strong showing in Tempe. Although the offense hasn't been aggressively strong so far, the Sun Devils should be able to start picking it up with more playing time.