Feb. 26, 2003

WEEKLY RELEASE in PDF Format

BRIEFLY
Seeding in the 2003 West Coast Conference will come down to the final weekend of play as all eight positions are still up in the air. The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team can finish as high as fourth as they take on San Francisco on Friday, Feb. 28 and then take on Saint Mary's on Saturday, March 1. Both games are at 7:05 p.m. in Gersten Pavilion, as the Lions trail Saint Mary's by just one game for fifth and Pepperdine by two games for fourth.

GRAND FINALE
The West Coast Conference will have a lot on the line in the final weekend of play as every spot in the eight-team conference is still in doubt. The match-ups could not have been drawn up any better as the Lions, who are chasing for at least a fifth place finish will take on the team they trail by one game for the spot on Saturday. That team is Saint Mary's, who enter the weekend one game up on the Lions as they come to Los Angeles for a pair of games. The Gaels trail Pepperdine for fourth place by one game and will look for the series sweep over the Waves on Friday. San Francisco, who the Lions play first on Friday, have a one game lead on Pepperdine for third place. Those two will battle on Saturday. The conference crown is also up in the air, as San Diego trails Gonzaga by just one game with the Zags coming into town on the final day of play on Saturday. San Diego and Gonzaga will both have to take care of business on Thursday, as they take on Portland and Santa Clara, respectively. Portland trails both the Lions and Santa Clara by one game for a tie for sixth place in the conference. The Pilots and Broncos play each other on the final day as well.

SENIOR WEEKEND
The final weekend of play for the Lions is also the final homestand of the season. With it comes Senior Weekend. The Lions will recognize two seniors on Senior Night as the Lions take on Saint Mary's on Saturday. Seniors Miroslav Neskovic and Patrick Madigan will play their final game in Gersten Pavilion. Neskovic joined the Lions in the 2001-02 season after transferring from Casper Junior College in Wyoming. The forward from Uzice, Yugoslavia enters the weekend shooting 47 percent from the field in just over nine minutes a game in his two seasons at LMU. Madigan will wrap up his career at LMU in outstanding fashion. A National Scholar-Athlete, Madigan was a letterwinner with the LMU crew team before earning a spot on the men's basketball team through his work ethic this season as a walk-on. "Patrick and Miro are outstanding young men who have shown the work ethic this season that it takes to be successful. The LMU basketball family will miss these two individuals," said Head Coach Steve Aggers.

LAST WEEK
The Lions fell to rival Pepperdine, 94-71 on Saturday. Sophomore Sherman Gay led the team with 14 points, all in the first half. Freshman Brandon Worthy added 13 and Andy Osborn had 10... Sophomore Charles Brown had three assists in the game to give him 115 on the season, the highest since Haywood Eaddy had 117 in the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Brown also added a steal to his season totals, giving him 51. Eaddy had 51 in 1997-98 and Rahim Harris had 59 in 1992-93... Worthy has 139 free throws in his first season as a Lion, needing five more to crack the all-time top-10 list for free throws in a season. Ed Bento is 10th with 144 in the 1962 season. Bo Kimble has the record of 231 in the 1990 season. Worthy was two-of-three against Pepperdine.

TRI-FECTA
The Lions started the second half of conference play with a record of 3-0 thanks to a 73-61 win over Santa Clara. The victory was the third straight in seven days for LMU. The last time the Lions won three straight the West Coast Conference play was on Jan. 15-21, 1999 when they defeated San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Diego. The Lions just defeated Portland, Gonzaga and Santa Clara... LMU earned their 10th win of the season, the first time to reach double-digit wins since the 1998-1999 season when they went 11-16... It was the Lions first road win since they defeated Saint Mary's on Jan. 12, 2002, 75-64... LMU earned the first season sweep of Santa Clara since the 1990 season when the Lions advanced to the Elite Eight... It was also the first win in Santa Clara since March 5, 1995 when the Lions upset the Broncos in the first round of the WCC Tournament, 87-83... It was also the first regular season win in Santa Clara since Feb. 13, 1992. The Lions won that in overtime, 86-83... And the Lions erased a five-point halftime deficit, the first time LMU has come from behind at the half to win this season (1-11).

STREAK-STOPPER
The Lions 80-74 win over Gonzaga, who was ranked 26th in the nation at the time, was a streak-stopper, as it ended the Zags nine-game win streak on the season, their 22-game streak against WCC opponents and a 16-game stint against LMU. It also snapped Head Coach Steve Aggers' 12-game streak against Gonzaga, dating back to his five years at Eastern Washington... LMU finished the game with a 29-24 edge in rebounding, the first time this season the Zags had been out-rebounded by a conference opponent and just the fifth time overall. It was the first WCC opponent to out-rebound the Zags in 13 games, dating back to last season.. Sophomore Sherman Gay had a game-high nine, five coming on the offensive glass as the Lions finished with 11 offensive boards to Gonzaga's five... The Lions forced Gonzaga into 19 turnovers, creating 15 steals, which was the highest since they had 17 against Portland on Feb. 16, 2002. Gay, Charles Brown and Wes Wardrop each had four steals... The Lions trailed just once in the first half as they built a lead as large as 13 and then led by 12, 40-28 at the half. They would lead for most of the second half until Gonzaga took a six-point lead with 3:51 remaining after Blake Stepp scored five straight points. LMU would finish the game on a 14-2 run to hand the Zags the four-point loss. Andy Osborn hit a three-pointer from the corner with 1:28 remaining to give LMU the lead for good at 73-72.

NOTES FROM PORTLAND
The Lions 15-point win over the Pilots was the largest victory in conference play since LMU defeated San Diego 89-73 on Jan. 21, 1999... The 86 points was the second largest scoring total on the season, two shy of the 88 they scored in the 33-point win against Sacramento State on Nov. 25, 2002. The Lions scored 47 points in the second half, tying for the most since they did it in back-to-back games against Montana (Dec. 21) and Siena (Dec. 29)... True freshman Chris Ayer continues to improve with each game, setting his career-high in points for the second straight game with 13 against the Pilots. He also tied his career mark with seven rebounds and continues to be the most prolific freshman shot blocker in LMU history, adding two more to his career total which stands at 21... Sophomore Andy Osborn has enjoyed playing the Pilots, adding 19 points, three rebounds and two blocks to his career totals. In four career games against Portland, Osborn is averaging 15.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

SCORING IN CONFERENCE
After 10 games in conference play, the Lions have four players scoring in double figures. Freshman Brandon Worthy is averaging 12.6 points per game in WCC games to lead all scorers. He is joined by sophomore Charles Brown with 10.9, sophomore Andy Osborn with 10.1 and junior Keith Kincade with 10.0... Against Gonzaga and Portland the Lions scored 80 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the season and did it for the first time since the 1999 season in WCC games. LMU is 4-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points and after defeating Santa Clara 73-61 on Thursday, are 8-0 when holding teams to 71 points or less.

BLOCK PARTY
Junior Sherman Gay, who continues to have his best season as a Lion, had four blocks over the weekend, including three against San Diego. He moves his season total to 52, three shy of tying the all-time record of 55 held by Richard Patruska and Silvester Kainga. His career total is now 79, replacing Kainga in the LMU record books, who had 74 in his three-years at LMU. Gay leads the West Coast Conference with two blocks per game and is fifth on the team in scoring with 8.7 points per game and first with 4.6 rebounds per game.

REACHING 500
With 12 points against Pepperdine on Saturday, Jan. 25, sophomore Andy Osborn scored his 501st point as a Lion. In less than two full seasons, Osborn joins an elite list of players to score more than 500 points in his career while an underclassman. The Longmont, Colo., native has added to that total, giving him 272 points in his sophomore season and 565 in his career. His efforts in the Lions' wins against Gonzaga and Portland moves him into ninth for points in a career as a sophomore, replacing Ennoch Simmons. Previous to Osborn, 10 players had scored 500 points in his career by the end of his sophomore year. Forrest McKenzie, who his third all-time with 2,060 career points, scored 914 points by the conclusion of his sophomore year in 1983 to lead the list. All 10 players would finish their careers with at least 1,000 points. There have 26 players score 1,000 points in their careers at LMU.

MORE SCORING MILESTONES
Last season sophomore Andy Osborn had the best offensive season by a freshman in 17 seasons with 293 points (10.1 points per game). However, it will be less than a season for the Lions to have another solid scoring freshman. Brandon Worthy, in his first season of collegiate basketball, is currently fourth all-time for freshman scoring with 11.6 points per game, replacing Osborn, who had 10.1 last season. Worthy, whose 312 points is fourth all-time as a freshman, scored 13 points against Pepperdine. Worthy has scored in double figures 18 times this season, second on the team behind sophomore Charles Brown. 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 Rahim 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.

MORE ON OSBORN
Sophomore Andy Osborn is third on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game and second with 4.0 rebounds, had another solid weekend in leading the Lions to a pair of wins against Gonzaga and Portland. He averaged 18.0 points per game, while hitting on 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the field, 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) from the three-point line, and grabbing six rebounds to earn WCC/Rawlings Player of the Week honors on Feb. 10. In the opening weekend of WCC play against Gonzaga and Portland, he averaged 17.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. He had his fourth career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds against Portland. It was the second double-double against the Pilots for Osborn, who also set a career-high with 23 points against Cal State Northridge and then passed the 20-point plateau with 22 against South Carolina State. He finished the tournament in Montana State earning all-tournament honors.

DEFENSE
LMU has been impressive on the defensive end of the floor, ranking in the top of the West Coast Conference in three of the defensive statistical categories. The Lions enter the week ranked first in blocked shots, second in steals and third in three-point field goal defense. LMU averages 4.11 blocks and 7.37 steals a contest and holds opponents to 34.7 percent from long distance. The Lions defense was at it again against Gonzaga, creating 19 turnovers and earning 15 steals. During the Montana State tournament, LMU gathered 21 steals, including 11 against Siena. It was the second highest total on the season, trailing the 13 they had at Cal Poly on Dec. 16. Sophomore Charles Brown leads the team and the WCC with 51 steals on the season (1.89 per game). The Lions block total is the highest average since 1991 when they set the school record with 5.0 per game (155 in the season). Leading the WCC in blocks is junior Sherman Gay. The native of Carson, Calif., has 53 on the season and an average of 1.96 per game.

FLOOR LEADER
In his second season, point guard Charles Brown has become the Lions' floor leader. He is second on the team with 10.9 points per game and also leads the team in assists (115) and steals (51). The 5-11 guard from Hercules, Calif., has continued to set career-highs all season, including his 23-point effort against Montana on Dec. 21. He finished hitting 9-for-16 from the field, 3-for-7 from the three-point line, adding a team-high seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Brown was named the WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 16 with his effort against Long Beach State, earning career-highs in points (16), rebounds (8) and assists (8) while adding three steals. His 1.92 steals per game is tops in the WCC, while his 4.26 assists per game is fourth. Brown also earned All-Tournament team honors for his efforts at the Great Alaska Shootout.

GROWING UP
For the first time this season Head Coach Steve Aggers changed the Lions starting line-up and three players earned their first starts of their careers against Cal State Northridge and Gonzaga. Junior Sherman Gay, who is having his best season to date, earned his first start of his three-year career against the Matadors. He responded with 10 rebounds and four blocks in 31 minutes. He continues to play well with a career-high 18 at home against Santa Clara and came one block shy of the school record with six against San Diego. Freshman Brandon Worthy and Wes Wardrop also earned their first starts against Northridge. Worthy finished with 12 points, all in the second half, and Wardrop had six assists in 35 minutes, both career-highs. Wardrop added nine assists in the win over South Carolina State, the most since Jim Williamson had nine in 1993. Wardrop also worked his way into the records with six steals against Cal Poly. It is the most by a freshman in LMU history. Freshman Chris Ayer earned his first start in his young career against Gonzaga, scoring six points in 16 minutes. Ayer had the best game of his with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks against Portland. In addition, freshman John 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.

GERSTEN PAVILION
The Lions had a homecoming crowd of 3,720 for its game against Pepperdine. It was the largest crowd since the Lions drew 3,812 on Jan. 19, 1996 in a 71-62 win over Santa Clara. The support continues a recent trend of increasing crowds during the three-year tenure of head coach Steve Aggers. The game against the Waves drew a student crowd of over 1,500, nearly 36 percent of the undergraduate population of LMU. 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 have an overall record of 160-132 at Gersten Pavilion.

ODDS & ENDS
FIRST TIME
The consolation game of the Montana State Tournament was the first ever meeting between LMU and South Carolina State. It was the second meeting of the season in which the Lions faced an opponent for the first time, losing to Villanova in the Great Alaska Shootout 87-71. In Head Coach Steve Aggers three-year tenure, the Lions are 3-2 facing opponents for the first time in school history. They defeated Vanguard 87-64 (Nov. 17, 2002), Mississippi Valley State 74-65 (Nov. 14, 2001) and So. Carolina State (Dec. 30, 2002), while losing to Samford 72-60 (Nov. 13, 2001) and Villanova 87-71 (Nov. 28, 2002). The match-up against Siena was the first since the Lions traveled to Loundonville, NY, in 1952. Siena won that contest as well, 67-54 and are now 2-0 against the Lions.

MORE FROM SIENA
It was also junior Jason Dickens' second meeting against the Saints. The junior from Arizona faced Siena in his first game as a college player when he was with Davidson. Dickens and Davidson played Siena in the first round of the Preseason NIT in 1999, losing 89-79..... The Lions attempted 28 three-pointers against Siena, including 17 in the first half. It was the most the Lions have attempted since the 1998-99 season when they had four games with 28 or more three-point attempts. The 28 this season is the most since the Lions had 36 against Gonzaga on Feb. 20, 1999.

THE COMFORTS OF HOME
LMU, earning a 76-68 win over Long Beach State, improved to 4-0 at home in the regular season, 6-0 including their two exhibition games. The last time the Lions went 4-0 at home was the 1987-88 season when LMU was a perfect 14-0 in Gersten Pavilion. They also started 4-0 in the 1986-87 season. The four wins this season is the first time while playing in Gersten Pavilion the Lions have started undefeated at home against NCAA Division I opponents, defeating Loyola Chicago, Sacramento State, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. The Lions dropped their first home game of the season, 75-68, to Montana on Dec. 21.

LIONS IN ALASKA
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.

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.

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.

NEWEST LION
Jon Ziri from Tempe, Ariz., signed a National Letter of Intent with the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball program. The 6-2 guard from Marcos De Niza High School is the lone commitment for the Lions in the early signing period. "In evaluating guard play during the AAU summer tournaments, we found Jon Ziri very impressive in how hard he plays and how well he competes," said Head Coach Steve Aggers. Ziri led Marcos De Nizi to the 5A state title last season with a 60-49 win over Highland. He made three three-pointers and scored 16 points in the finals. He averaged 17 points and nine rebounds per game and is a McDonald's All-American nominee. He was named second-team All-State and was selected to the first-team All-Southeast Valley and All-Central Region teams. "Jon is a high character young man who has come from a quality high school program. We look forward to having this outstanding young man in our program," said Aggers.

THE WCC
The 2002-2003 season marks the WCC's 51st year. The league's current membership consists of eight private institutions (Gonzaga, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, USF, 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 LMU and Pepperdine, changing 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 WCC 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.

-GO LIONS-