March 6, 2004

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BRIEFLY
Third time was the charm for the Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team (15-13) as they defeated the University of Portland in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament on Friday night, 82-77. With the win, the Lions avenge the two-game skid against the Pilots in the regular season. LMU hopes to continue the trend of the third time being the charm as they face rival Pepperdine (14-15) in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 6 p.m. It will also be third meeting between the rivals as the Waves won both in the regular season.

TAKING NOTE
Here is some notes following the Lions' opening round win over Portland:
* The Lions 82 points was the most in the WCC tournament since scoring an 87-83 win over Santa Clara on March 5, 1995.
* With the win, the Lions earn a victory in the conference tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1989 and 1990 tournaments.
* LMU finished the game against Portland shooting 54.7 percent from the field. It ranks second best in the WCC tournament in LMU history. In the game against Santa Clara on March 4, 1995 they finished hitting 57.7 percent.
* Senior Sherman Gay had the Lions first 30-point game since Ben Ammerman had 30 at Pepperdine on Jan. 21, 1998.
* Sherman Gay became just the 19th player in LMU history to have a 15-15 game (15 or more points and 15 or more rebounds in the same game) with 30 points and 15 rebounds.
* Sherman Gay's effort was the best point- rebound combination since Hank Gathers had 30 points and 16 rebounds in the WCC Championship on March 6, 1989.
* Sherman Gay's 30-point, 15-rebound effort was the first 15-15 game by a Lion since Kenny Hotopp had 16 points and 15 rebounds on Dec. 7, 1996.
* Sherman Gay's 30 points is tied for fifth all-time in a WCC Tournament game. His 15 rebounds is third all-time in WCC Tournament games.
* With the win the Lions are guaranteed to have its first winning season since 1995-96 (18-11). That was also the last year the Lions went with out a three-game or more losing streak. The Lions did not have one this season.
* The Lions have won four of their last six games, with the two setbacks coming by an average of 3.5 points. Of LMU's 28 games, 16 have been decided by less than 10 points as the Lions have gone 10-6 in those contests. They are also 5-1 in games decided by two or less points.
* With five assists against Portland, Charles Brown moved his assist average 3.5 per game in WCC Tournament contests. It ranks him fourth all- time at LMU among player with four or more games in the championships.
* LMU outrebounded the Pilots by 10 in the win on Friday, 38-28, including 13 offensive rebounds. It was the second highest rebound margin in the WCC Tourney in LMU history.

WCC TOURNAMENT
With the conclusion of the regular season in the West Coast Conference, the WCC Tournament will begin Friday, March 5 with the first round of the men's tournament. The 2004 Tournament will be held at the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University. The tournament format remains the same as last year, as the Lions advanced with an 82-77 win over Portland in the game one of the first round. In game two No. 5 Santa Clara advanced with a 34-point win over No. 8 San Diego. The number one seed goes to Gonzaga with No. 2 going to Saint Mary's. Both have a bye to the semifinals on Sunday. The No. 7 Lions will face No. 3 Pepperdine at 6 p.m. while the game 2 winner Santa Clara will face No. 4 San Francisco in the quarterfinals around 8:30 p.m. The Santa Clara-USF winner will take on Gonzaga at 9 p.m. and the LMU-Pepperdine winner will battle Saint Mary's at 6 p.m. in the first semifinal. The championship held on Monday, March 8.

QUARTERFINALS
One of the fiercest rivalries in the WCC will be renewed once again in the quarterfinals of the tournament when LMU takes on Pepperdine. It will be the 138th meeting in the history of the two programs as the Lions will look to knock off some recent demons. The Waves have won 12 straight to hold a 58-79 edge in the series. However, in four meetings in the WCC tournament the teams have split with two wins each. On the season Pepperdine won both meetings, 82-67 on Jan. 24 in Malibu and in dramatic fashion on Feb. 21 in Gersten Pavilion, 67-65.

- GO LIONS -