Dec. 3, 2002
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BRIEFLY
With a grueling stretch of five games in eight days, the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team (3-2) will have a brief rest before traveling to UC Irvine (1-2) on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at 7:05 p.m. It will be the second straight game for the Lions against a team who has won back-to-back conference titles. Wyoming won two straight Mountain West Conference titles and UC Irvine has back-to-back Big West titles under their belts. In addition, it will be the fourth straight game for the Lions against a team that advance to the postseason in 2001-02. Villanova and UC Irvine both went to the NIT, while Wyoming and Montana went to the NCAA Tournament. The Lions game against UC Irvine will be broadcast live on KXLU 88.9 FM or on the internet at www.LMULions.com.
A QUICK LOOK
This will be the fourth year Loyola Marymount and UC Irvine have faced off against each other. UC Irvine has won the previous three and is coming off a pair of 20-win seasons. The Lions will play UC Irvine and then head back to Gersten Pavilion for a game on Saturday, Dec. 7 against Cal State Fullerton (0-2) at 7:05 p.m. The game against the Titans will be a part of huge sports day at Loyola Marymount. The University will host the 2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo National Championship at the Burns Recreation and Aquatics Center on Dec. 7-8. The games are at 12 and 1:30 p.m. both days. It is the first NCAA championship hosted at LMU.
LIONS IN ALASKA
The Lions opened the Great Alaska Shootout against Villanova of the Big East, falling late 87-71. The Lions trailed by just seven when junior Sherman Gay hit a pair of free throws to make the score 76-69 with 2:49 remaining. However, the Wildcats went 11-of-12 from the free throw line the final two-plus minutes to seal the win. It was the first meeting against a Big East opponent since traveling to Notre Dame in 2000. The Lions are 3-12 all-time against the Big East. Sophomore Andy Osborn with 17 points and three blocks led the Lions. Sophomore Charles Brown and junior Kent Dennis added 12 each. However, LMU was undone on the boards, being out rebounded 41 to 21 by the Wildcats, including 15 by Jason Fraser. The freshman also had a game-high 24 points. LMU would regroup and earn a 65-62 win over Montana to advance to the third round of the Shootout. Dennis led the Lions with 11 points and Brown was named Carrs/Safeway Player of the Game with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Brown hit a three-pointer with 1:39 remaining and the Lions defense held for freshman Brandon Worthy to hit two free throws to give LMU the lead for good. Worthy and Dennis combined to hit six-of-six free throws down the stretch for the win. In the fourth place game the Lions took on the University of Wyoming for the first time since 1988 when the teams faced-off in the NCAA Tournament. Wyoming held on down the stretch to post a 72-65 win. The two-time Mountain West Conference champions trailed just once at 2-0 for most the game and built a 12-point lead late in the second half. The resilient Lions, who have come-from-behind twice already this season, went on a 16-3 run over a five minute span to take just their second lead of the game at 57-56 with 4:15 remaining. Junior Keith Kincade hit two of his 12 second half points to give LMU the lead. He finished with a team-high 14 points and seven rebounds. The Cowboys, however, hit 10 of their tournament record 36 free throws down the stretch to earn the victory.
RECORD WATCH
Not only did the University of Wyoming set a Great Alaska Shootout record with their 36 free throws made, but they also tied the record for an LMU opponent. They tied a record for an LMU opponent set by Gonzaga on Jan. 17, 1987.
HISTORICAL TIES
It was quite the twist of fate that the Lions battled Wyoming for the first time in 14 years at the Great Alaska Shootout. Not only did the last meeting against the Cowboys come in a tournament, but also Lions' Head Coach Steve Aggers faced a program that is a large part of his history. First twist in this match-up is that the Lions win over Wyoming in the NCAA Tournament in 1988 was the program's first-ever in the Big Dance. Last year's appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Wyoming was its first since that loss. Second, Aggers grew up watching and following University of Wyoming athletics. His father, Jack Aggers, was the head athletic trainer for more than 30 years. Jack Aggers was inducted into the Wyoming Athletics' Hall of Fame in 1995-96. In addition, both Aggers and Wyoming Head Coach Steve McClain went to Chadron State College in Nebraska. This was the 116th (35-81) meeting for the Lions against a team in the current Mountain West Conference. Their last win came in 1995 when they defeated UNLV 70-67.
EXEMPTIONS
The 2002 Great Alaska Shootout marked the second consecutive season the Lions played in an exempt tournament in the early part of the season. LMU went 1-1 in last year's inaugural Guardian's Classic, losing to Samford 72-60 and defeating Mississippi Valley State 74-65. The trip to the Guardian's Classic was the first exempt tournament for the Lions since the Nike Festival during the 1995-96 season in Hawaii. The Lions went 2-0 in the tournament, defeating Hawaii (82-80) and Nevada (75-67). The last time the Lions played in back-to-back exempt tournaments were the 1990 Maui Invitational and the 1989 Preseason NIT. In exempt tournaments the Lions are 5-6 all-time.
BACK-TO-BACK
With an 85-79 win over Loyola Chicago to start the season and an 88-55 thrashing of Sacramento State in game two, the Lions started the 2002-03 season 2-0 for the first time since 1995-96. The Lions finished that season 18-11 overall, defeating Sonoma State (Nov. 24, 1995 - 85-66) and Seattle University (Nov. 26, 1995 - 70-55) at Gersten Pavilion to start the year. They would streak out to a 9-1 record under coach John Olive. It is also the first time the Lions have recorded back-to-back victories at the start of the year against NCAA Division I teams since the 1973-74 season, defeating UC Irvine (Nov. 30, 1973 - 76-70) and Northern Arizona (Dec. 1, 1973 - 78-63). With the win against Montana, the Lions moved to 3-1 to start a season for the first time since the 1995-96 campaign.
11 TO THE DAY
The 85-79 win over Loyola University Chicago was the Lions first season opening win against an NCAA Division I opponent since they defeated Morgan State 140-110 in the Los Angeles Classic on Nov. 22, 1991. The Lions improve to 2-1 in season openers and 3-0 in home openers under third-year Head Coach Steve Aggers.
GOING FOR TWO
The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team continued its dominance over Sacramento State with an 88-55 win Nov. 25. With the 33-point win the Lions have defeated the Hornets in three straight seasons by an average of 23 points, running their overall record against Sacramento State to 5-0. "It feels very good to be 2-0," said Head Coach Steve Aggers. "We had balanced scoring while getting a lot of players minutes tonight." The Lions had a balanced attack with three players in double figures and 11 of the 13 that played getting on the scoreboard. LMU stretched their lead to as big as 33 at the 9:43 mark when senior Miroslav Neskovic hit one of two free throws. It was the largest win against a NCAA Division I team since Jan. 5, 1991 when the Lions defeated US International 186-140. Earning double figures for the Lions were junior Keith Kincade (14), freshman Wes Wardrop (13), sophomore Andy Osborn (10,) and junior Sherman Gay (10). Junior Jason Dickens added eight points and eight rebounds as the Lions outscored Sacramento State 44-18 in the paint.
MAKING THEIR MARK
Freshmen Brandon Worthy and John Haywood didn't take long to etch their name in the LMU record books. Worthy's 24-point performance in the win against Loyola Chicago was the best first game for a freshman in program history. He replaced Ennoch Simmons, who had 20 points on Nov. 23, 1985 against Pacific. The point total is the fifth best in a season by a freshman, tying him with Ralim Harris (vs. USIU - Jan. 5, 1991), Ross Richardson (vs. USIU - Jan. 5, 1991) and Forrest McKenzie, who did it twice (vs. Santa Clara - Jan. 15, 1982; at Portland - Feb. 6, 1982). McKenzie holds the freshman record with 29 points against San Francisco on Jan. 16, 1982. Haywood jumped into the record books with his four assists, tying him with Stanley Thorne (vs, Cal Baptist - Nov. 20, 1999) for most assists in a freshman debut. Both Worthy, who added six rebounds, two steals and an assist, and Haywood, who had three points and three rebounds, came off the bench for the Lions. Of the six rebounds by Worthy, five were offensive. Freshman Chris Ayer also had a solid debut with nine points (all in the first half) and five rebounds. Worthy leads the team with 11.5 points per game and is 26-for-29 from the free throw line (89.7 percent).
WCC HONORS
For the second season in a row an LMU freshman has started the year by earning West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors in their first week of college competition. Freshman Brandon Worthy earned the honors for his 24-point performance against Loyola Chicago. Sophomore Andy Osborn also earned the honor in his first collegiate action for his play in the Guardian's Classic. Osborn was the quickest freshman to earn the honor in WCC history. No other program has started two seasons in a row with a freshman earning player of the week honors.
BENCH MARKS
With the deepest bench in his three-year tenure at LMU, Head Coach Steve Aggers has been able to get his young team valuable minutes. Aggers used 12 players in the Lions' season opener against Loyola Chicago and all 13 in uniform against Sacramento State. The bench didn't shorten much in Alaska with 11 players making an appearance against Villanova and Montana and 12 against Wyoming. Sophomore Charles Brown leads the team with 25.4 minutes per game. Juniors Kent Dennis and Keith Kincade are the only other Lions averaging more than 20 minutes a game. So far this season, the Lions have had at least eight players score in every game, including 11 in the first two wins.
YOUTHFUL RESILIENCY
Through the first two exhibition games and the start of the 2002-03 season, the youthful Lions have proven that they won't go down without a fight. LMU erased second half deficits of seven and 13 points respectively in the two exhibition wins over EA Sports and Team Ezybonds of Australia. They did it again in the wins over Loyola and Montana, erasing a 10-point deficit in the first half against the Ramblers, and a six-point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining in the win over Montana. The Lions trailed 18-8 with 13:49 remaining against the Ramblers. LMU would then go on a 9-0 run in the next 2:30 to cut the lead to one with 11:11 remaining on freshman Brandon Worthy's lay-up. The Lions would later take their first lead of the game with 5:48 remaining on a lay-in by Chris Ayer. The Lions used another run to put the game away at the end of the game. The Lions went on a 13-2 run when Brown hit a three-pointer with 4:23 remaining to give LMU the lead for good. The Lions trailed by six with 6:42 remaining when the Lions began to come back against the Grizzlies. Junior Kent Dennis hit a three-pointer and trailing later by just three with 2:18, Brown hit a three-pointer to tie it. Worthy hit two free throws to give LMU the lead for good with 41 seconds remaining. They almost did it again to Wyoming. Trailing by 12 with nine minutes to play in the game, the Lions went on a 16-3 run to take a one-point lead with four minutes remaining.
BLOCK PARTY
With only five games played this season, there is still a lot of basketball to be played. However, to start the season the Lions have combined for 30 blocks, averaging six per game. Last season LMU was fourth in the West Coast Conference with just over two per game (2.31), having six blocks a game just four times. Junior Keith Kincade, sophomore Andy Osborn and junior Sherman Gay all have three blocks in a different game this season. Kincade had just three all of last year and both Gay and Osborn tied career marks while at the Great Alaska Shootout. The Lions had just one stretch in back-to-back games in 2001-02 when they combined for 10 or more blocks, getting 12 against San Diego (6) and Gonzaga (6) in the final two games of the season. They had a season-high of eight against Montana. Gay leads the team with nine after five games.
A LOOK AT EXHIBITION
Fans were able to get a quick look at the new men's basketball squad for Loyola Marymount University through a pair of tough exhibition wins. The Lions started with a 74-72 victory against EA Sports West All Stars and followed that with an 85-82 win over Team Ezybonds of Australia. In both games the Lions came-from-behind in the second half, trailing by seven against EA Sports and 13 to Ezybonds.
RESTORING THE ROAR
In his first two seasons Head Coach Steve Aggers continued to mark milestones for the Lions. For the first time in five seasons, LMU claimed the most lopsided win against a Division I opponent with the 18-point win over Sacramento State and against any division opponent with the 26-point win against Occidental. With the early-season success, LMU has taken hold of the 'Team First' approach. Since he became the Lions' 22nd head coach in April 2000, Aggers has taken the program from an RPI ranking of #314 and in the middle of the Lions' three-game win streak from Dec. 2 through Dec. 8 the Lions found themselves with their highest RPI ranking in more than nine years at #76. Going back even further in the record books, the Lions had the highest average attendance of 2014 at Gersten Pavilion since the 1992-93 season (2,329).
GERSTEN PAVILION
The Lions' home opener on Nov. 22 against Loyola Chicago started the 23rd season of basketball at Gersten Pavilion. Opening on Jan. 15, 1981, the men's basketball team has set many records, including several national NCAA records. More memorable moments in Gersten's history include the Lions' 16-game winning streak from Feb. 28, 1987 through Nov. 28, 1988. Gersten is also the home of the all-time NCAA Division I highest scoring game, a 186-140 win by the Lions over US International on Jan. 5, 1991. The Lions finished 5-9 in 2002-03 in Gersten, giving them an overall record of 155-128 (.548) in the facility.
THE WCC
The 2002-2003 season marks the WCC's 51st year. The league's current membership consists of eight private institutions (Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara) and has grown from just a men's basketball conference to now sponsoring 13 sports that compete on a national level. For five decades, student-athletes with the common goal of academic excellence and athletic achievement have driven the league. The league was founded in 1952 in an effort to create a convenient way for five Bay Area schools to play basketball. The five charter members, including Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pacific and San Jose State, joined together 50 years ago to form the California Basketball Association, beginning play on January 2, 1953. The league expanded in 1955 to include Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine and changed the conference name to the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956. The name was shortened to West Coast Conference in 1989. The WCC has had 15 different schools as a part of its 50-year tradition, but the conference has stood proudly with the same eight member institutions since 1979. With the same membership for 22 years, the West Coast Conference is one of the most stable leagues in the nation, with only the Ivy League and Pac-10 retaining its membership for a longer period of time.
