QUICKLY The Lions, who suffered two heartbreaking defeats at Gersten Pavilion against Portland State and Long Beach State, return to the road for a three game road trip over the next three weeks. It will all start to the snowy-windy city of Chicago against fellow Jesuit institiution Loyola-Chicago. The narrow defeats are beginning to follow the Lions, as they have lost four of their six on the season by five or less points. The last three defeats have been by a combined total of 10 points. The Lions will be without the services of senior center Pablo Machado, who will miss one to two weeks due to a hip flexer. Junior Greg Lakey will get his first start as a Lion, as LMU will be forced to change its line-up for the first time this season.

GAME #10 - Loyola-Chicago
The Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, including a 86-70 loss to Louisville on Monday night. Sitting at 2-7 on the season, the Ramblers will be glad to be back at Gentile Center as Loyola has won 17 of its last 22 (.773) games at the Gentile Center and is 38-18 (.679) all-time there. In four games at the Gentile Center, Loyola is averaging 75.5 ppg and shooting .459 (112 for 244) from the field. In four road contests, the Ramblers are posting 70.4 ppg and converting just .415 (140 for 337) of their attempts from the field. Sophomore guard David Bailey is emerging as one of the bright stars in the MCC this season. After hitting only .263 (18 for 63) of his shots from beyond the three-point arc as a freshman, Bailey is knocking down .410 (16 for 39) through nine outings this season. He leads the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game, including an average over 20 the last seven games. Schin Kerr has scored in double figures in all but two game this season and is second on the team in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and steals (1.8 spg). A transfer from Central Florida Junior College, Kerr also ranks second on the team in scoring with 14.0 ppg. Kerr, who has already recorded a pair of double-doubles this season, scored a career-best 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting in only 27 minutes of action against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 16. Prior to hitting .667 of his shots from the field versus Eastern Illinois, Kerr had shot just .353 (18 for 51) from the field in his previous four outings.

PREVIOUS
GAME #9 - LMU vs. Long Beach State
The heartbreakers continue for the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team, as the Lions fell to Long Beach State 57-54 in a non-conference game Monday night at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions fell down early, thanks to the 49ers' Ramel Lloyd, who finished with 20 points, and Travis Reed, who added 13. The Lions committed 18 first half turnovers that led to the early deficit. They finished the game with 24 turnovers, but held the 49ers to 57 points, 21 below their season average. The 49ers (6-4) led 28-12 with 2:13 left in the first half before the Lions (3-6) went on a 25-4 run, capped by Philipp Czernin's dunk, to take a 37-32 lead with 10:52 remaining in the game. Lloyd responded by scoring 13 of the 49ers' next 16 points, capped by a 3-point basket from the left wing, to tie the game 48-48 with 6:08 left. Junior Robert Davis' 3-point basket from the left corner gave the Lions a 54-51 lead with 2:20 remaining, but Reed made two consecutive lay-ups, the latter with 20 seconds left, to give the 49ers a 55-54 lead. LMU's Marcus Smith missed a 10-foot jumper with three seconds left and the rebound went out-of-bounds to Long Beach State. Ron Johnson made a layup at the buzzer for the final points. Davis scored 18 points for the Lions, all in the second half including a career-high five 3-point baskets, and reserve center Greg Lakey added 10 points and three steals. The Lions outrebounded the 49ers 41-29, but shot just 34.6 percent from the field (18-of-52). The 49ers shot just 41.5 percent from the field (22-53), but made eight of their last 10 field-goal attempts. The game featured seven lead changes, including five in the final 5:23, and five ties.

GAME #8 - LMU vs. Portland State
Anthony Lackey scored a game-high 17 points and the Viking's Jabbar Washington added 12 points, including 2 free throws with one second remaining, as Portland State ended Loyola Marymount's two-game winning streak with a 66-62 non-conference victory Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions (3-5) used an 11-3 run, the last six of which were scored by Pablo Machado, to take a 49-46 lead with 10:31 remaining. However, the Lions made just one field goal in a 7:50 stretch, and permitted a 10-0 Vikings run to fall behind 60-54 with 2:07 remaining. Robert Davis's 3-point basket trimmed the deficit to 62-59 with 49 seconds remaining, but Eurskine Robinson missed the front end of a one-and-one with 17 seconds left and Charles Madison made two free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Vikings a 64-59 lead. Davis's 25-foot 3-point basket with one second remaining cut the deficit to 64-62. The Lions fouled Washington prior to the inbounds pass, and Washington sank both free throws to clinch the victory for the Vikings. Portland State (2-6) was 9-for-9 from the free throw line in the final three minutes, and made 11-of-12 free throws in the game. The Lions made just 10-of-19 free throws, and committed 20 turnovers while forcing just 13. LMU outrebounded the Vikings 40-33, and limited Portland State to 38.7 percent shooting from the field. Davis and Pablo Machado led the Lions with 14 points each, and Greg Lakey added 13 points and a game-high 8 rebounds. Machado made 7 of 9 shots, and Lakey improved his 60 percent field goal shooting with a 5-for-6 effort. Davis equaled his career high with 4 three-point baskets.

Hard Court Notes
*Stats as of 12/18/00
BALANCED DIET
The Lions have thrown a balanced diet of scoring at opponents this season, having four players average double figures in scoring. After nine games of the 2000-2001 season, the Lions' attack is getting offense throughout the line-up. Junior Robert Davis, who scored 18 points against Long Beach State, is the current scoring leader for the Lions. He is averaging 13.3 points per game and is followed by junior Greg Lakey at 13.1 and senior Pablo Machado with 11.6. The Lions have had seven games already this season in which three or more players scored in double figures. UC Irvine and Long Beach State are the games in the early season that only two players were in double figures. So far this season, the Lions have had six different players score in double figures and five different players lead the game in scoring (see the breakdown on page 11).

LIGHTS OUT
Against Vanguard the Lions didn't get off to a bad start, finishing the game hitting 59 percent of their shots. It was the first game since hitting 37-of-58 (.638) in a 101-87 win over St. Mary's on January 29, 1999, the Lions finished a regular season game hitting more than 50 percent of their field goals. In the 87-64 win over Vanguard, the Lions hit 70 percent in the first half, including 4-of-7 from the three point line. On the season, the Lions have finished three games hitting more than 50 percent of their shots, hitting 55 percent against Colorado and 51 percent against Sacramento State. Against the Hornets, the Lions finished hitting 29-of-56 from the field. The loss to Colorado was the first time the Lions have dropped a game hitting more than half their shots since Boise State on Nov. 21, 1998, when the Lions hit 25-of-44 in a 93-86 loss in Gersten Pavilion. The Lions have shot better than 50 percent in seven of the 18 halves they have played this season. In the 1999-00 season the Lions did not have a game shooting over 50 percent and finished the season hitting 36 percent. Through the Sacramento State game, the Lions have improved more than 12 percent compared to last season.

SENIOR LEADER
Senior Elton Mashack is the team captain of the Lions and is expected to be the leader of the team this season. As the season progresses, he might be one of the all-time leaders at LMU. With 811 points and 375 rebounds in three years at Loyola Marymount, Mashack could join an elite list of only 10 players that have accomplished the feat of scoring 1,000 points and grabbing 500 rebounds in a career. He has 87 points and 60 rebounds on the season after getting 6 points and 9 rebounds against Sacramento State, giving him 898 points and 435 rebounds in his career at LMU.

MORE FOR MASHACK
Mashack, who has 11 double-doubles in his previous three years at Loyola Marymount, earned an unofficial one in the final exhibition game of his career and the Lion's 2000-01 season. In the 99-71 win over Son's Blue Angels, the forward scored 18 points and had 10 rebounds. The double-double record of 66 by Jim Haderlein is far from attainable for Mashack. He just missed a double-double against USC with 15 points and eight boards.

MAKE THAT A DOUBLE
After seeing his first action in over a year since transferring to LMU from USC a year ago, junior Greg Lakey earned his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Lions 87-64 win over Vanguard. That was a sign of things to come, as the forward just keeps setting career records in this 2000-01 campaign. So far this season, Lakey is averaging 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. He has led the team in scoring against Colorado, Idaho State and Sacramento State, earning a career high 29 against the Hornets. He currently sits second on the team in scoring and is third in rebounds. In the West Coast Conference, he ranked 9th in scoring and tied for 10th in rebounding heading into the game against Long Beach State. He is also one of the best in shooting percentage, hitting 62 percent (41-66) of his shots,tops in the league. As a junior, Lakey has begun to take some of the leadership on the floor for the Lions, accepting his sixth man role and averaging more than 25 minutes per game off the bench. Lakey averaged 5.1 points per game in two seasons with USC, earning 19 starts his freshman season in 1997-98.

LAKEY MAKING THEM PAY
Following a 9-for-9 performance from the free throw line against Sacramento State, his second nine-free throw performance of the season (Colorado), Lakey is ninth in the conference hitting 76 percent of his free throws (31-41) heading into the game against Long Beach State. Following a 4-for-6 effort against the 49ers, Lakey has hit 35-of-47 (75 percent). However, he is second on the team behind junior Robert Davis, who is fourth in the conference hitting 85 percent (17-of-20). As a team, the Lions have started to move up the charts in the conference, hitting 67 percent (129-192) from the charity stripe. The move up the charts was thanks in part to their 70 percent (26-of-37) effort agaisnt Cal State Fullerton and the 83 percent performance (15-of-18) at Sacramento State. The Lions sit at fifth in the conference.

ON THE BOARDS
Despite the smaller line-up of the Lions, who have only two players over 6-8, they hold a +5.0 edge on the boards after nine games of the 2000-01 season. The Lions, who are ranked third in rebound margin in the WCC, have out rebounded their opponents in sevenof its nine games this season. The first two games saw the Lions dominate the glass, out rebounding a much taller UC Irvine squad, who features two 7-footers, 38-35 and Vanguard 37-24. It took the 15th ranked team in the nation, USC, and the Big 12's Colorado to out-do the Lions. In the last five contests, the Lions have out rebounded their opponents, including a 42-24 advantage at Idaho State, 40-33 advantage against Portland State and 41-29 against Long Beach State. In the 1999-00 season, the Lions had only seven games in which they out rebounded an opponent. On the season, the Lions are led by seniors Pablo Machado and Elton Mashcak, with a total of 49 and 50 boards in nine games. They ranksixth and seventh in the conference, while 31 offensive rebounds is the best in the conference.

WELCOME BACK
Loyola Marymount welcomed back the services of junior Robert Davis. The 6-2 guard from Tempe, Ariz., began his collegiate career at LMU in 1998-99 where he averaged 7.1 points and 2.3 rebounds a game as a true freshman. Last year Davis transferred to Chandler Gilbert Junior College where he led the conference with 26.2 points per game. In his first game back at LMU, Davis managed 11 points for the Lions, including two three pointers. After seven games he leads the team with a 13.3 ppg average, including a season high 21 points in the loss to USC and a recent 18 against Long Beach State. He currently sits 12th in West Coast Conference scoring prior to the Long Beach State game. Davis enjoys playing the powers of Southern California, as his previous high of 17 came against UCLA in his freshman season on Dec. 29, 1998. Davis is also averaging 3.3 rebounds per game and has 21 assists and a team high 11 steals. More leading stats - he leads the team with 21 three-pointers in 49 attempts (.429), including a 5-of-9 effort against The Beach. He is shooting 45 percent from the field (41-for-92). In the conference, he is ranked fifth in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in three-pointers made per game.

IN THE MIDDLE
Senior center Pablo Machado enters his fourth and final season of collegiate basketball. Prior to transferring from Georgia Tech two years ago to LMU, Machado was one of the top-rated high school players in the nation coming out of Tift County High School in 1996. At 6-10, Machado was named Mr. Basketball in Georgia by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Hoping to return to his high school stats, where he averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds, Machado continues to improve in his final season, earning his sixth career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds against Sacramento State. He had a solid start to the season with 19 points and seven rebounds against Vanguard. Although hampered by four fouls most of the second half, Machado had his way with the smaller line-up of Vanguard. He has begun to lift up his game, as the Venezula native is third on the team with 11.6 points per game and leads is second on the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. His 3.50 offensive rebounds per game is tops for the league lead and he sits at 10th in the conference in scoring. On the season he has scored in double figures six times.

TEAM IS FIRST
Junior Eurskine Robinson will be the key at the point for the Lions this season. Robinson, who transferred from College of the Canyons, earned the starting nod and delivered for the Lions, with a team high 32 assists on the season, which is good for seventh in the WCC. Robinson broke College of the Canyons' career assist record with 421. As a team, the Lions have been dishing out 15.22 assists per game, second in the WCC. LMU is the only team in the league to have three players on the top 10 list in assists. Thanks in part to nine assists against Sacramento State, junior Philipp Czernin is eighth in the league with 28 assists (3.11 per game) and junior Robert Davis is tenth with 21 (2.33). With his assists, Czernin is first in the league with an assist/turnover ration of 1.79. Putting the team play in perspective, the Lions have 137 assists on the season while hitting 221 field goals. That translates to more than 62 percent of the Lions baskets earn an assist. Against Sacramento State, the Lions assisted on 80 percent of their baskets with a season high 23 assists while hitting 29 field goals. A year ago, LMU averaged a league low 11.3 assists a game. LMU finished the game against Vanguard with 21 assists, the highest assist total for the Lions since they had 25 against St. Mary's on Jan. 29, 1999 in a 101-87 win.