SportsScope : Lion Cagers Take Aim at WCAC Title

Loyola Marymount University, tied for first in the West Coast Athletic Conference basketball race, closes out its home schedule this weekend against Gonzaga on Friday and Portland on Saturday. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. The Lions, coming off their first conference loss, to co-leader Pepperdine, are 16-7 overall and 8-1 in the WCAC. Gonzaga is 11-12 and 4-6, Portland 12-11 and 3-6. Loyola is 10-3 at home. Gonzaga is 1-6 on the road, Portland 1-7.

Loyola’s high-scoring back court of Keith Smith and Forrest Walton-McKenzie continues to top the conference with averages of 22.6 for Smith and 19.6 for McKenzie. Sophomore Mark Armstrong leads the Lions in rebounding with 8.7 per game, with McKenzie next at 7.6. Smith leads the WCAC in assists at 6.5 per game.

Gonzaga is led by senior guard Jeff Condill (13.2-point average) and freshman forward Jim McPhee (12.3 in WCAC). Portland’s best player is guard Fred Harris (13.4).

Cal State Dominguez Hills’ basketball team will close the season and attempt to break a five-game losing streak while playing its last three games in five days. The Toros travel to Cal Poly Pomona on Friday and to UC Riverside on Saturday, then play host to Chapman College in the finale Tuesday. All games begin at 7:30 p.m. The Toros are 7-17 overall, 2-9 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Pomona is 12-12 and 3-8. Riverside, one of the title contenders, is 18-6 and 8-3, two games behind leader Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Junior forward William Alexander leads the Toros with a 17.3-point average and leads the CCAA with a 19.3 average in conference games. Freshman Tony Akins is next at 16.5 per game. The five-game losing streak, the Toros’ second this season, matches the longest of Coach Dave Yanai’s career.

El Camino College closes out the regular-season basketball schedule Friday night with a Metropolitan Conference game at Bakersfield. The Warriors have clinched the title and the right to defend their state title in playoffs.

The Loyola Marymount baseball team won two out of three at Arizona State over the weekend to improve its record to 9-1. Loyola plays host to Cal State Long Beach at 2:30 p.m. Friday, then plays a double-header at Long Beach at noon Saturday. The Lions are batting .307 and their earned-run average is 3.52, an improvement of about two runs per game over last year. Senior right-hander Tim Layana is 3-0 with a 2.80 ERA. Sophomore Chris Donnels leads the offense with a .400 average, four home runs and 17 runs batted in. Senior Steve Polk is batting .371 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. Senior Billy Bean has seven RBIs with a .379 average.

Cal State Dominguez Hills’ baseball team, ranked fourth nationally in Division II, plays at Pepperdine at 2:30 p.m. today, then plays host to Azusa Pacific in a noon double-header Saturday. The Toros had two rainouts last week and split the two games they played to bring their record to 4-2. Senior second baseman Mike Brocki is batting .462. Junior outfielder Jon Beuder is the top run producer with nine batted in. He is hitting .417.

Boys CIF soccer playoffs begin today. In 4-A, Hawthorne is at Buena, Marina at Rolling Hills, El Modena at Torrance and South Torrance at Bishop Montgomery. In 3-A, El Segundo is at Hart, Montebello at Miraleste and Leuzinger at Burbank. Girls playoffs begin Friday with 4-A games including Palos Verdes at Newport Harbor, North Torrance at Alta Loma, Huntington Beach at South Torrance and a wild card winner at Torrance. In 3-A, Canyon Country Canyon is at Bishop Montgomery.