College Update: Pope, LoVett off to hot starts for men’s basketball squads
The following are updates on local athletes at the collegiate level.
Austin Pope (Burbank High, 2013) Chaminade University men’s basketball senior: As Chaminade’s only returning starter, the former Bulldogs standout has had a fine start to the season for the Silverswords.
Pope was named to the PacWest Conference Preseason Team after earning PacWest Newcomer of the Year honors last season when averaged 12.1 points and 8.8 rebounds with nine double-doubles.
In Chaminade’s season-opener Friday, Pope had seven points, eight rebounds and three assists in a 71-58 win over the University of Alaska in the Hawai’i-Alaska Challenge.
In a 71-65 win over host Alaska Anchorage in the finale of the challenge Saturday, Pope had 12 points, snagged six rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked a career-tying four shots and had a steal.
The Silverswords will be in action at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational on Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center to face 14th-ranked Notre Dame.
Marcus LoVett (Providence High) St. John’s men’s basketball sophomore: The former All-Area Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year who played for the Pioneers in his first two high school years, had a fine season debut for the Red Storm.
After leading the Red Storm to 77-61 win Friday over New Orleans in their season opener, LoVett was named to the season’s first Big East Weekly Honor Roll.
The redshirt sophomore kicked off the campaign with a bang, scoring a game-high 23 points on seven-of-14 shooting, including a five-for-10 effort from beyond the arc. LoVett also dished out three assists with no turnovers in 34 minutes of action. In addition, he matched a career-high with four steals.
LoVett continued his solid play Tuesday in an 80-55 nonconference win against Central Connecticut State, scoring 15 points on six-of-10 shooting with three three-pointers to go along with four assists and two rebounds.
, St. John’s will play Nebraska on Thursday at home.
Danielle Ryan (Burroughs High, 2016) San Francisco State women’s volleyball sophomore: The former Pacific League co-Player of the Year proved to be a steady contributor off the bench for the Gators.
On Saturday, San Francisco State saw its season end with a 25-14, 25-21, 25-12 California Collegiate Athletic Asson. loss to first-place Sonoma State.
The Gators finished the season 8-18, 4-14 in CCAA play for fifth place.
Ryan played in 19 matches. She tallied 50 kills to go along with 40 digs. Her best effort came Sept. 9 in a 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 11-25, 15-13 nonconference loss to Academy of Art when she tallied 11 kills.
Mireya Gonzalez (Burroughs High, 2017) Alcorn State women’s soccer freshman: In her first season with the Braves, the former All-Area player started in all 14 of her team’s matches.
In taking 23 shots, the forward scored one goal and had one assist. Her goal came Oct. 22 in a 2-0 victory over Grambling and her assist came Sept. 4 in a 3-1 win against Alabama A&M.
Alcorn State concluded its season Nov. 2 with a 2-1 loss to Alabama State in the opening round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championships at Prairie View A&M.
“We played well today,” Alcorn State coach Junior Nole told the university’s website. “We were very competitive. The team gave a very commendable performance.
“As we look back on the season, based on all the obstacles we had to face, I am happy in the way in which we stayed positive throughout.”
The Braves finished 4-10, 3-7 in SWAC play.
Twitter: @jefftsports
