GAME NOTES: The Loyola Marymount Lions have a tough test ahead if they want to pull out of a three-game slide as they travel to face the Stanford Cardinal in a non-conference matchup at Maples Pavilion on Wednesday.

Loyola Marymount enters this clash sporting a 3-5 record after the Lions dropped each of their last three contests. LMU is coming off a very tight 71-69 loss to Northern Arizona in its most recent outing.

Stanford has won two of its last three games, and brings a 5-2 record into this clash. But the Cardinal opened the season on a three-game winning streak, and with losses in two of the team's last five games, they haven't strung a pair of wins together since its win streak.

These two programs have met five times on the court before in their series history, but there's been only one side that has come away victorious. Stanford holds a 5-0 all-time advantage over LMU, as all five games have come on the Stanford campus.

Both Loyola Marymount and Northern Arizona played a pretty even match offensively, though NAU's 35-32 halftime lead was the difference maker in the contest as the Lions couldn't play catch up in the second frame. Evan Payne was essentially playing offense by himself, as the bench player netted 10- of-16 shots from the floor for a team-leading 32 points, adding in six rebounds and six turnovers. Marin Mornar chipped in with nine points in the two-point loss.

Payne is in a league of his own when it comes to Loyola's offensive effort. He's the only Lion to average a double-digit scoring total, netting 22.6 ppg in only four starts. Matt Hayes, who has only played in six games this season, is next closest in the scoring department, netting 8.5 ppg. The Lions as a team are scoring 67.4 ppg on 43.3 percent shooting, but they're allowing opponents to net 70.1 ppg against them, making a winning outcome a bit hard to attain. Godwin Okonji has brought down a team-best 6.3 rpg so far.

It certainly wasn't a pretty offensive performance for Stanford against Denver in the team's latest contest, but the Cardinal pulled out a 49-43 victory over the Pioneers, despite shooting 31.8 percent from the field. Anthony Brown came off the bench to net 17 points to pace Stanford, while Stefan Nastic chipped in with 10 points and four blocked shots. Brown and Rosco Allen each grabbed a team-high six boards in the win, in which the Cardinal held a 17-2 advantage in scoring from the free-throw line.

Chasson Randle tops Stanford in the scoring department, netting 16.4 ppg on 37.6 percent shooting from the floor. Nastic isn't too far behind at 14.4 ppg, and Brown, who didn't start for the first time this season against Denver, contributes 14.3 ppg for the Cardinal. As a team, Stanford has done a stellar job scoring this season, averaging 73.0 ppg on 43.9 percent shooting. With three players on the squad grabbing more than seven rebounds per outing (led by Brown's 7.9 rpg mark), the team is pulling down 39.6 rpg.

Stanford should have no trouble pulling ahead early against Loyola Marymount, especially at Maples Pavilion. If the Cardinal can shut down Payne for the Lions, LMU might struggle to get many points up on the board in general. As long as the ball is in either Randle's, Nastic's or Brown's hands, Stanford will be just fine in this non-conference bout.