March 8, 2003

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

BRIEFLY
The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team earned a 65-63 win over the University of Portland in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament in San Diego on Friday night. With the win, the Lions will take on the University of San Francisco in the quarterfinals on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.

WCC FIRST ROUND
The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team defeated the University of Portland 65-63 in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Friday night. The win for the Lions is their first in the WCC Tournament since March 2, 1997 when they upset Santa Clara 70-61. It came down to the final seconds, as freshman John Haywood would force Portland's Patrick Galos into a turnover with just 1.5 seconds left to seal the Lions win. Sophomore Charles Brown with 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and two steals led the Lions. Also in double digits for LMU was junior Sherman Gay with 13, including a crucial three-point play with less than two minutes to play, and sophomore Andy Osborn with 12. Portland's Adam Quick led all scorers with 18, while Casey Frandsen had 17 and Eugene Jeter had 14. The Lions forced Quick into a long three-point attempt with two seconds on the shot clock. Osborn would get the rebound and then Gay would hit another chip shot with :56 left to make it 64-59. Portland would not go away, as Jeter would hit four straight free throws to make it 64-63 with 34 left on the clock. Worthy would hit one of two to set-up Haywood's steal to end the game... Freshman Chris Ayer had three blocks to tie an LMU record for blocks in a WCC Tournament game. He ties John Veargason (1989), Bo Kimble (1990) and Sherman Gay (2002)... Other LMU WCC Tournament records: The plus-six edge on the boards is the third best in LMU history. The record was a plus-24 against Gonzaga on March 3, 1990.... The four blocks is the fifth most by the Lions in a WCC Tournament game. The record is six against Gonzaga last season... The 11 three-point field goal attempts is tied for the fewest by the Lions, tying the 11 they had against Gonzaga on March 4, 1995... The 44 field goals by the Pilots is the fewest by an opponent in a WCC tourney game.

THE HISTORY
This will be the 132nd meeting San Francisco and LMU. It has been a tough series for the Lions, as they have dropped both meetings on the season and USF holds a commanding 92-29 record on the Lions. LMU has not defeated USF since Jan. 15, 1999, and have lost 13 of the last 14 meetings. The Lions are 0-2 in the WCC Tournament against USF, losing in the quarterfinals both times. This season USF won 91-73 in San Francisco on Feb. 1 and 75-69 just last week at Gersten Pavilion.

UPDATE ON USF
San Francisco claimed third place in the WCC with a weekend sweep over LMU and Pepperdine last weekend. USF enters the game against the Lions with a record of 14-13 overall and finished the WCC 9-5. Senior Darrell Tucker was voted Rawlings/WCC Player of the Month for February and has earned Player of the Week honors three of the last five weeks. He leads the conference in scoring with 18.5 points per game and averages 8.0 rebounds per game. He is averaging 22.1 points per game in the WCC. John Cox is second on the team with 15.7 points per game and Shamell Stallworth is third with 12.6. On the season, USF averages 69.8 points per game and allows 68.8.

THE LAST TIME
Just eight days ago USF earned a 75-69 win over the Lions at Gersten Pavilion. Darrell Tucker hit a three-point play to break a tied ball game to help the Dons to the win. Tucker finished with 29 points and eight rebounds. Leading the Lions was Charles Brown, Andy Osborn and Sherman Gay with 12 points each. Brown also added a career-high nine assists. The Dons outrebounded the Lions 37-30.

PROJECTED STARTERS

San Francisco		Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG
44	Alvin Broussard	F	6-6	Jr.	8.8	5.1
3	Darrell Tucker	F	6-9	Sr.	18.5	8.0
0	James Bayless	C	6-7	Jr.	10.2	5.7
33	John Cox	G	6-5	Jr.	15.7	3.6
5	Jason Gaines	G	6-0	So.	3.1	2.0

Loyola Marymount		Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	PPG	RPG
31	Keith Kincade	F	6-6	Jr.	9.0	3.3
33	Sherman Gay	F	6-7	Jr.	9.2	4.5
40	Chris Ayer	C	6-10	Fr.	3.6	2.7
13	Wes Wardrop	G	6-3	Fr.	4.6	1.8
01	Charles Brown	G	5-11	So.	11.3	4.0