SACRAMENTO, Calif. (December 9) - The Loyola Marymount men's basketball team, four days removed from breaking a 32-game streak against NCAA Division I oppoenents, put an end to another streak and started another one of their own. The Lions ended their 23-game road losing streak with a 78-59 win over Sacramento State at Arco Arena on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Lions earned back-to-back wins for the first time since posting three straight in January 1999. The third win in that streak came on Jan. 21, 1999, a 89-73 victory over the Toreros. It was the last win on the road for the Lions and the last double-digit win on the road.
"This was a great win, a great road win for us," said head coach Steve Aggers. "We exectued well and matched their intensity. They are very well coached and play hard for the entire game. We matched that and because of that our front line players got a lot of great looks."
Leading the front line players was junior Greg Lakey, who continues to shine for the Lions off the bench. He finished with a game high and a career high 29 points and added 7 rebounds.
"Greg played very well for us off the bench. He makes it very difficult for opponent," said Aggers. "Our front line did a great job in executing the offense."
However, it was the defense that shut the Hornets down. The Lions held Sacramento State to 24-of-62 from the field (38 percent) and a mere 1-of -19 from the three-point line (5 percent). The Lions finished shooting 51 percent from the field (29-of-56).
"Our defense was the difference in this game," said Aggers. "We are getting better defensively and it showed tonight."
The Lions jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first half thanks in part to points in transition and in the paint. The Lions first 10 points were under the basket, as the LMU's big men pushed the Lions field goal percentage at the half to 58 percent (18-31). Lakey, who leads the team shooting 53 percent on the season, hit 5-of-6 on the half for 12 points. He finished the game hitting 10-of-12 from the field (83 percent) and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
In building a lead as big as 14 points, the Lions went into halftime leading for the third straight game. While LMU was shooting well, the defense clamped down to hold the Hornets to only 41 percent from the field and 11 percent (1-of-9) from the three-point line.
The Lions came out in the second and extended their lead to 17 and then as high as 19 in putting away the Hornets. In the process the Lions outrebounded the Hornets 39-35, the fifth game of the season the Lions out rebounded their opponents. Leading under the boards was senior Pablo Machado, who had sixth career double-double with 12 rebounds and 11 points. Fellow senior Elton Mashack added 10 points, while junior Philipp Czernin just missed a triple-double with nine points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
The Lions head home for two games at Gersten Pavilion against Portland State on Dec. 16 and Long Beach State on Dec. 18. Both games are at 7 p.m. and will welcome the Lions new scoreboard featuring a state-of-the-art video screen. -GO LIONS-
