QUICKLY
The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team finished in a tie for fifth place in the West Coast Conference with a record of 5-9 and 9-18 overall. It was the first season of play under the direction of head coach Steve Aggers. In taking over a program that earned just two wins in the 1999-2000 season, Aggers and the Lions were predicted to finish last by many media polls and last by the WCC preseason coaches poll. With a "Team First" motto, the Lions are heading into the WCC tournament as a surprising sixth seed. The Lions began to turn heads when they opened conference play on Jan. 12 by shocking highly regarded San Diego 62-59.

WCC HONORS
The Lions' season earned senior Elton Mashack and junior Marcus Smith all-conference accolades, with Mashack taking home first team honors. The senior is bringing to conclusion one of the all-time top four-year performances in school history, as he became only the 11th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds. He finished second on the team with 11.6 points per game, which was 12th in the conference. Smith, who was a finalist for defensive player of the year in the WCC, finished leading the team with 30 steals and 10th in the WCC with 2.59 assists per game.

SEASON OF FIRSTS
Entering the tournament at 9-18 and 5-9 in the WCC, the Lions improved their record by seven wins, five in the conference and ended up dropping six games by five points or less. With the turn around, the Lions accomplished many firsts in over a year. The Lions won their first road contest in 23 games with a 78-59 win against Sacramento State on Dec. 9. That week Lakey scored a season and career-high 29 points as he became the Lions first WCC Player of the Week selection in two years. The Lions would go back on the road on Dec. 21 and earn the Lions first back-to-back road wins since Jan. of 1997. The sweep against Portland this season was the Lions' first since sweeping conference rival Pepperdine in 1996.

Game #28 - WCC Tournament First Round - Santa Clara
With a 65-61 win over Saint Mary's on Saturday night, Loyola Marymount University concluded an unexpected fifth place finish (tied with San Francisco) in the West Coast Conference in the 2000-2001 season, one year after the Lions failed to produce a win in conference play. With first year head coach Steve Aggers, the Lions earned the sixth seed in the upcoming WCC Tournament and a date to play Santa Clara University in the first round on Saturday, March 3. The WCC tournament will be played at San Diego University's Jenny Craig Pavilion, and the Lions and the Broncos will tip-off at 6:00 p.m. On the season, the Broncos swept the two-game series, winning both games by eight points. In game one on Jan. 13, the Broncos outscored the Lions 23-15 down the stretch to win 78-70. In Santa Clara, the Lions trailed by as many as 17 in the second half but battled back to tie the score at 58 with 3:47 remaining. SCU once again held on for the 74-66 win.

IN THE WCC TOURNEY
The Lions (9-18, 5-9) have had the Broncos' (18-11, 10-4) number in the 15-year history of the West Coast Conference Tournament, earning a 4-1 record in the five meetings. It is the most meetings of any opponent in the postseason for the Lions, and LMU's last two victories in the tourney have come as upsets as the number eight seed over top-seeded Santa Clara in 1995 and 1996. In the second and third-year of the WCC Tournament, the two programs met in the championship game. The Lions claimed both of their tournament titles in those years, defeating Santa Clara 104-96 in 1988 and 75-70 in overtime in 1989. The last meeting in the tournament was Santa Clara's lone win, a 77-64 victory in 1999. In that season LMU was the fifth seed and SCU the fourth. This will be the first time the Lions will enter the tournament as the sixth seed. The rest of the bracket will feature No. 2 Pepperdine against No. 7 Portland at 12 Noon and No. 1 Gonzaga against No. 8 Saint Mary's 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. The Lions and Broncos start the second session at 6 p.m. with No. 4 San Diego and No. 5 San Francisco doing battle 30 minutes following the conclusion of LMU-SCU.

Hard Court Notes
TURN ABOUT
The Lions turn around by first year head coach Steve Aggers is one of the best in school history. LMU's 16-game change between the 1986-87 and the 1987-88 seasons is the best ever in school history. The Lions went from 12-16 to 28-4 in one season under Paul Westhead. The 28 win season is the best ever at LMU. This season, the Lions head into the WCC with a seven game turnaround, the fifth best ever and second best under a first-year head coach. Aggers is second only to Westhead, who in his first season took the Lions from a 11-16 record in 1984-85 to a 19-11 mark in 1985-86 and a bid in the NIT.

LIONS IN THE WCC TOURNAMENT
Three players on the Lions roster have experience in the WCC Tournament. Senior Elton Mashack has longed the most time, playing in three games, while Pablo Machado and Robert Davis have one appearance each. Mashack finished with eight points a year ago against Pepperdine, going 2-for-11 from the field with seven rebounds. In his three games, he has 23 points and 16 rebounds. In 1999 Mashack started his first WCC tournament game against Santa Clara and was 3-for-9 with seven points, seven rebounds in 35 minutes of play. He had eight points as freshman against Gonzaga in 1998, going 3-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the three-point line. Last year Machado led the Lions against the Waves with 21 points, going 7-for-10 from the field with eight rebounds. As a freshman against Santa Clara two years ago, Davis was 0-4 from the field with one rebound in seven minutes of play.

BALANCED DIET
The Lions have thrown a balanced diet of scoring at opponents this season, getting offense throughout the lineup. The Lions have had 18 games this season in which three or more players scored in double digits, including their latest win against Saint Mary's. Three players are averaging double figures in scoring on the season, Robert Davis 11.8 ppg, senior Elton Mashack with 11.6 ppg and junior Greg Lakey with 10.5 ppg. LMU has had 10 different players score in double figures and seven different players have led the game in scoring (see the breakdown on page 19). Freshman forward Sherman Gay was the latest to score in double-digits with 11 against Gonzaga. Junior Marcus Smith was the seventh player to lead the team in scoring with 18 against Saint Mary's hitting seven-of-eight from the field. He added another 18 against Portland, his second game of the season leading the Lions in scoring. He added his third against Santa Clara with 11 and fourth to close out the regular season with 19 against Saint Mary's. In the conference, Davis is 11th, while Mashack is ranked 12th and Lakey at 15th.

INJURY UPDATE
In the trip to the Northwest, it was the first time since the start of conference the Lions have played without anyone sidelined due to an injury. The Lions, who seemed to be hitting stride in the upset over the Toreros on Jan. 12 to open the WCC, have had three of its four top scorers sidelined at some-point this season due to injury. Elton Mashack continues to nurse a sprained ankle, but played 29 minutes and scored 15 against Portland. In the first meeting against San Francisco he was unable to play due to the injury. Junior Greg Lakey saw his first action in two weeks in the past weekend series up North. He had his best game since the heal injury suffered in the first meeting against Portland, with a 15-point effort against the Pilots last Saturday. Pablo Machado seemed to recover from a hip-flexor injury suffered in non-conference play with 15 against the Dons on Jan. 27. Heading into the WCC Tournament, the injury bug will have one lasting effect as junior Sean Mollins, who broke his thumb against San Francisco, will be out the rest of the season.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Lions become road warriors this season, earning some important wins outside of Gersten Pavilion. LMU finishes the regular season 4-11 on the road, winning two road conference games for the first time since the 1997-98 season. LMU broke a 23-game losing streak with a 19-point win over Sacramento State on Dec. 9 and earned their second straight road victory with a 63-53 win over Loyola-Chicago. It was the first time the Lions have won two consecutive road games since 1997 when the Lions defeated Pepperdine in overtime on Jan. 24 and following three at home went on the road to defeat St. Mary's on Feb. 5. They earned their first conference road win in 11 games with the 71-63 win in Moraga over Saint Mary's. Their last WCC road win had been against San Diego on Jan. 21, 1999.

LIGHTS OUT
Against Vanguard the Lions didn't get off to a bad start to the 2000-01 season, 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 Jan. 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. The Gaels were once again a victim of hot shooting, as the Lions finished the game hitting 51 percent (25-49) of their shots, including a 59 percent (16-27) effort in the first half and 62 percent (5-8) from the three-point line in a 71-63 win on Jan. 22. On the season, the Lions have finished five games hitting more than 50 percent of their shots, hitting 55 percent against Colorado and 51 percent against Sacramento State. They concluded their road schedule with a 59 percent (29-49) effort against Portland. Against the Hornets, the Lions finished hitting 29-of-56 from the field. It looked to be more of the same against USF, as the Lions finished the first half hitting 56 percent (14-25) from the field. They finished the game at 44 percent (25-57). 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.

LEAVING THEM IN THE COLD
Defense has become a key for the Lions, as they have made opposing offenses feel left in the cold from the field. On the road, the Lions defense has been tough. The Lions held UNLV to 37 percent from the field (27-73), the fourth opponent the Lions have held to under 40 percent. The win against Loyola-Chicago was the best yet for the LMU "D". How cold was it for the Ramblers? The Lions kept them without a three-point field goal, 0-10, despite entering the game hitting more than 35 percent on the season. In the Lions' first two road wins, their opponents were a combined 1-28 from the three-point line. The defense has followed them home, as the Lions opened West Coast Conference play with a 62-59 win against San Diego, holding the Toreros to 40 percent shooting from the field and a mere 15 percent from the three-point line (2-of-13). On the season, the Lions' defense has held their opponents to 34.3 percent (162-472) from the three-point line, which is ranked third in the league.

SENIOR LEADER
Senior Elton Mashack is concluding an All-WCC first-team season in his final campaign as a Lion,. He earned his 100th career appearance against Portland on Feb. 2 while scoring a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He is 12th in the conference with 11.5 points per game and fourth with 6.7 rebounds per game. He scored a season high 19 at home against Santa Clara, after breaking his season high in each of the previous five games. He had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lions in both categories for the fifth time this season against Pepperdine. He added 15 more in the win against Portland on Feb. 17 to put the Lions in position for a fifth place tie in the WCC. As the season progresses, he is becoming one of the all-time leaders at LMU. With 811 points and 375 rebounds in three years at Loyola Marymount, Mashack had the opportunity to 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. With 19 points against Santa Clara, hitting two free throws with 28 seconds left, Mashack became the 26th player in LMU history to score 1,000 points in a career. He completed the other half of the equation with three rebounds against Portland, giving him 500 in his career. He has 301 points and 163 rebounds, giving him 1,112 points and 538 rebounds in his career at LMU. He is currently the 19th all-time leading scorer, surpassing Steve Smith with 1,109. In addition, he is ranked 18th in the record books with his 538 rebounds, one shy of Dick Sebek for 17th.

MORE FOR MASHACK
It keeps piling up for Mashack. With 13 points and 10 rebounds against Gonzaga, he earned his 14th career double-double. It was his third of the season, earning 16 points and 10 rebounds against UNLV and 15 points and 11 rebounds at Pepperdine. His record for double-doubles in a season is seven, his sophomore campaign. He is now tied with Terrell Lowry all-time at LMU. Jim Haderlein leads that list with 66 in his career. Mark Armstrong is in seventh with 16 and Mike Yoest is sixth with 19.

ON THE BOARDS
Despite the smaller line-up of the Lions, who have only two players over 6-8, they hold a +1.6 edge on the boards, outrebounding seven of their last 10 opponents, including the WCC top rebounding team, Gonzaga. They outrebounded the Gaels 36-31 and did the same to the Dons, 34-31. After returning home, LMU outrebound Portland 40-27 and then the Zags 34-33. They outrebounded Santa Clara 37-31, but were outrebounded by San Diego, 39-30. The Lions, who are ranked fifth in rebound margin in the WCC, have out rebounded their opponents in 18 of 27 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. The Lions also out rebounded UNLV and San Diego State 54-50 and 35-32. In one stretch this season, the Lions held a 42-24 advantage at Idaho State, 40-33 advantage against Portland State and 41-29 against Long Beach State. Individually, Elton Mashack is sixth in the conference with 6.3 per game. In the 1999-00 season, the Lions had only seven games in which they out rebounded an opponent.

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. He currently leads the team in scoring with a 11.8 points per game and has led the Lions in scoring in nine of the 27 games this season, the most on the team. Davis enjoys playing the Pac-10 neighbors of Southern California, as he earned a career high 21 against USC, with his previous high of 17 against UCLA in his freshman season on Dec. 29, 1998. Davis is also averaging 4.2 rebounds per game, fourth on the team. He also has 62 assists and 20 steals on the season. More leading stats - he leads the team with 45 three-pointers in 132 attempts (.341). In the conference, he is ranked 11th in scoring (12.4) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (1.67).

MAKE THAT A DOUBLE
After seeing his first action in over a year since transferring to LMU from USC, 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 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He led the team in scoring with 16 in game one against Pepperdine and earned a career high 29 against Sacramento State. Against Saint Mary's, he had his 14th game this season in double figures with 13. He is third on the team in scoring and third in rebounds. In the West Coast Conference, he ranks 15th in scoring. He suffered a heal injury against Portland and was forced to sit three games, but responded in the second meeting against the Pilots with 15 points. Lakey averaged 5.1 points per game in two seasons with Southern California, earning 19 starts his freshman season in 1997-98.

IN THE MIDDLE
Senior center Pablo Machado will conclude 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. The Venezuela native is fourth on the team with 8.6 points per game and is second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game, including eight against San Francisco in the final home stand. His 2.52 offensive rebounds per game is third in the league.

TEAM IS FIRST
Junior Eurskine Robinson, who transferred from College of the Canyons, leads the team with 82 assists on the season, which is good for sixth in the WCC (3.05 apg). Robinson broke College of the Canyons' career assist record with 421. As a team, the Lions have been dishing out 14.19 assists per game, third in the WCC. Junior Marcus Smith is now in 10th with 70 assists on the season (2.52 per game). With his assists, Robinson is fifth in the league with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.37. Putting the team play in perspective, the Lions have 383 assists on the season while hitting 632 field goals. That translates to more than 60 percent of the Lions' baskets earn an assist. With 22 assists on 32 shots, the Lions assisted on 69 percent of its baskets against Portland on Feb. 2. The best this season came against Sacramento State, the Lions assisted on a season high 80 percent of their baskets with 23 assists on 29 field goals. Against Saint Mary's, the Lions assisted on 18 of 25 field goals (72 percent) in the win. In Chicago, LMU dished out 14 assists on 18 field goals, 77 percent of its baskets. In the loss to UCSB, the Lions still managed to dish out 17 assists on 23 field goals, good for 74 percent. 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.

STEPPING IT UP IN THE WCC
Juniors Marcus Smith and Sean Mollins have found a new home in the West Coast Conference. In 12 conference games, Smith and Mollins have risen to the top of the Lions' scoring leaders. They are averaging 10.0 and 6.8 points per game respectively, which contrasts to their 5.6 and 2.7 points per game in non-conference play. Smith scored a career high 18 against Saint Mary's and then followed up with another 18 against Portland. He finished the game against Saint Mary's shooting 7-of-8 from the field. In the finale against the Gaels at Gersten Pavilion, Smith set a career high with 19. He has led the team in scoring in four of the conference games. His WCC efforts earned his all-conference honorable mention honors in his inaugural campaign. Mollins, a walk-on from De Anza Junior College had a career high 11 points in game one against Pepperdine, added nine points in the win against San Diego and eight against Santa Clara. He earned his first start against San Diego. Against the Toreros in the first game of conference play, Mollins knocked down the biggest shot of his career, hitting the game-winner with 14 seconds left. In both games, Mollins showed his range hitting a three-pointer to add to his career totals. He has also been a force on the glass for the Lions, grabbing a game-high eight against Saint Mary's. He turned around the next night to play a career-high 31 minutes while scoring seven points and gathering six rebounds against USF. For the Lions in conference play, Smith and Mollins rank third and sixth on the team in points per game.

ON THE RADIO
All LMU men's basketball games will be broadcast live on KXLU Radio FM 88.9. Check-out all the action as Jeff Janssens and Pat Graham will call the action. Coverage will begin five minutes prior to tip-off and following the game will include the Steve Aggers' Postgame Show. The station, which is a part of the LMU campus, is a learning opportunity of Loyola Marymount University and is operated by the students.

ON THE INTERNET
Along with TotalSports, Loyola Marymount men's basketball games will be "TotalCasted" this 2001 West Coast Conference season. WCC games starting with the Lions contest against San Diego on Jan. 12 will be TotalCast live at www.LMULions.com. Get instant updates on all the action as the game is broadcast live graphically. The entire West Coast Conference Tournament will be TotalCasted once again this season for all 14 of the men's and women's games. Go to: www.LMULions.com/local/cybercenter.html for all the action of LMU men's basketball.