McKenzie Returns, Smith Scores 29 and Loyola Beats UC Santa Barbara

It wasn’t formally homecoming Tuesday night at Loyola Marymount University, but it was a successful coming out for Forrest McKenzie as Loyola defeated UC Santa Barbara, 85-78, before a crowd of 1,263.

McKenzie, a fifth-year senior, had 18 points and 5 rebounds as part of a group effort that saw senior guard Keith Smith score 29 and sophomore forward Mark Armstrong snag 17 rebounds.

It was McKenzie’s first appearance at home since March, 1984. Since then he has battled with the NCAA, sat out a year in a grades dispute, changed his name (to Walton-McKenzie) and broken his thumb, missing the first game of this season.

The cast was removed from his hand last week and McKenzie scored 30 points against Cal State Fullerton in his first game. Tuesday night, all seemed right.

“It felt good to be back home,” said McKenzie, who played 37 minutes. “It felt a lot different going on the court this year.”

McKenzie also feels good about the team’s prospects. The Lions are off to their best start since 1976-77 at 3-1 and should win tonight when they play Division II Bemidji State of Bemidji, Minn., at home.

“I thought this was a very good win for us in terms of getting some momentum going,” McKenzie said. “This game proved we could do it.”

With Smith scoring 13 and McKenzie 10 in the first half, Loyola led by as many as 14 and took a 44-32 halftime lead.

After an 18-11 run, the margin reached 19 midway through the second half, 62-43, but Santa Barbara held tough, primarily on the long-range artillery of guard Connor Henry, and fought back to keep the score respectable. Gaucho Coach Jerry Pimm showed there’s no quit in his team when he called a timeout with five seconds left. It wasn’t enough to keep the Gauchos from falling to 2-2.

Henry, a senior from Claremont, scored 23 points.