College Notebook : Loyola Could Use a Traffic Controller
The busiest place in the Westchester area over the holidays is undoubtedly Los Angeles International Airport, but Loyola Marymount can make a case for its Gersten Pavilion running a close second.
Both the Loyola men’s and women’s basketball teams played at the pavilion on Monday. On Tuesday there was a women’s double-header in which Dartmouth played Fordham (since both Eastern teams were out here for scheduled games against other opponents), preceding a game between Loyola and Wyoming. On Wednesday, the Loyola men played host to Holy Cross.
Meanwhile, practice sessions were held by the Loyola men’s and women’s basketball teams, Dartmouth, Wyoming, Loyola of Chicago and the Lakers.
After the New Year, things will really heat up at the pavilion.
On Sunday the Loyola women will kick it off with an afternoon game against highly rated Cal Poly Pomona.
On Monday, because the Sports Arena is unavailable for a couple of weeks, the USC men will play a home game against Colorado State, then return to Gersten Pavilion on Jan. 9 for a 2 p.m. game, followed by the USC women at 4:30 and the Loyola-Azusa Pacific game at 7:30.
What’s in a Name Department: When Loyola Marymount played Loyola University in Chicago last year, it presented certain logistical problems for the scoreboard operator. First the teams were listed as Loyola-C and Loyola-M, which didn’t satisfy either side. Then they were listed as Loyola and Marymount, which didn’t sit well with the Los Angeles contingent. Finally, they settled on Loyola and LMU.
On Monday, when the Chicago team played the Lions in Gersten Pavilion, the situation was resolved without controversy. The Loyola Marymount scoreboard lists Home and Visitor.
Quick scoring off the bench and strong three-point shooting have been the hallmarks lately of both the Loyola Marymount and Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball teams.
The Toros are shooting 35 for 50 from three-point range, a .580 percentage that probably puts the Toros among national leaders. (New NCAA statistics will be issued next week.) The team leaders are Leonard Eaton, who is 19 for 30 (63%) from long range and Bryan Dell’Amico, shooting 50% on 28 attempts.
Eaton has given the Toros quick scoring off the bench, having totaled 81 points in 110 minutes. Dell’Amico, a freshman point guard who is comfortably making the transition to college ball, has led the Toros over the last three games with a 17-point average, on 14 of 22 field goals and 15 of 18 from the foul line.
Loyola is shooting 49.3% from beyond the three-point circle despite a sub-par three for seven against Loyola of Chicago earlier this week. Leading for the Lions are Corey Gaines, hitting a sizzling 68% on 17-of-25 accuracy, Enoch Simmons at 54% (13 of 24) and Bo Kimble at 48% (11 of 23).
Kimble, meanwhile, has given new meaning to the term “instant offense.” In four games off the bench, the sophomore guard has scored 84 points in 74 minutes and managed to get off 63 shots. He is also a near-perfect 13 for 14 from the foul line.
Loyola Marymount is scoring 110 points per game, second in the nation behind Oklahoma, and has scored at least 99 points in all six home games, but the Lions are not just a run-and-gun finesse team.
They’re playing with a strong work ethic that is reflected in a number of hard-earned floor burns on several players.
In Monday’s victory over Loyola of Chicago, Corey Gaines dove through the Ramblers bench going after a loose ball, knocking over Loyola Coach Gene Sullivan in the process.
On Wednesday against Holy Cross, Mike Yoest dove three times, once nearly taking out campus radio station KXLU’s three-man table along the sideline. Mark Armstrong, Enoch Simmons, Hank Gathers and Jeff Fryer have also been scrambling all over for loose balls and rebounds. And Bo Kimble had three near-altercations against Holy Cross.
“We’re playing good now, we’re into a rhythm,” Coach Paul Westhead said.
Sophomore guard Ken Horton scored a career-high 24 points for Cal State Los Angeles, which included hitting all three three-point attempts in a 94-78 victory over Fresno Pacific. The Westchester High graduate leads the Eagles with a 17-point average and is 13 of 24 on three-pointers. . . . Sam Turner, a Locke High graduate, has been named to the Cal State Los Angeles athletic Hall of Fame. A 10-time track All-American, he won three NCAA Division II hurdle championships and at one time was the third-fastest high hurdler in history. He’ll be officially inducted along with six others on Jan. 22. . . . Gonzaga junior guard Doug Spradley scored a career-high 35 points last week against Idaho, the most by a Bulldog since John Stockton, now with the Utah Jazz, had 38 in January, 1984. . . . Gonzaga forward Jim McPhee, recovering from knee surgery, continues to play off the bench. The junior is only averaging 6.3 points but is shooting 59% from the field. The Zags will play Loyola in the second week of West Coast Athletic Conference play on Jan. 23. Gonzaga hopes to have McPhee back in the starting five by then.