Pepperdine Takes Another Shot at Loyola : Lions, Going for 19th Victory in a Row, Are Undefeated at Home

It’s the same teams, but a different place for Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine as they meet at 7:30 tonight in Gersten Pavilion for a rematch of Wednesday’s game.

Loyola, which ran its record to 21-3 overall and 10-0 in the West Coast Athletic Conference with a 107-95 victory in Malibu, will be looking for its 19th straight win and a school-record 22nd victory. A win would also leave Loyola undefeated at home. Pepperdine (16-8 and 8-3) is three games behind Loyola and in a scramble for second place in the WCAC.

When Loyola last won 22 games, in 1948-49, the competition included the traditional WCAC opponents, plus teams from 20th Century Fox, the Los Angeles Police and Hamline University of Minnesota.

The last team to go undefeated in WCAC play--Loyola’s stated goal--was Pepperdine in 1981-82. The Waves would like nothing better than to knock off the Lions and improve their position in the postseason tournament.

After Wednesday night’s loss, the Waves joined St. Mary’s with three losses. Santa Clara is right behind with four losses. The fourth-place team will probably face Gonzaga or USF in the WCAC tournament opener, matchups none of the top four teams would relish.

Loyola point guard Corey Gaines, who played 33 minutes on an extremely sore left ankle Wednesday, is expected to start again and should be improved, though slowed. Gaines still managed to score 17 points and collect 11 assists but was heavily taped and didn’t have his usual explosive speed. Forward Mike Yoest, who was sub-par Wednesday with the flu, should also be improved. He had 9 points and 5 rebounds Wednesday, well below his averages of 18 points and 8.3.

Loyola is 13-0 at home, and Pepperdine is 5-6 on the road.

Wednesday night’s game marked the first time in nearly two seasons that USC transfers Tom Lewis, Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble were on the same floor. All three had good games: Kimble scored a career-high 32 points, Lewis had 25 and Gathers got 20.

Lewis and Gathers are in a battle for the WCAC scoring title. Gathers has led most of the season, but Lewis passed him this week and takes a 22.8-point average into the game. Gathers is at 21.8.

The hottest scorer, though, is Kimble, who is averaging more than 27 points in the last seven games.

Pepperdine’s big forward, Levy Middlebrooks, also carries impressive numbers, leading the conference in rebounding at 10 per game. He’s averaging 19 points.

Until Wednesday, Pepperdine was 13-0 when it had scored at least 80 points. But that changed when Loyola scored its usual triple figures, with six players in double figures and Yoest at nine. “We rely on three or four scorers,” Wave Coach Jim Harrick noted. They’ve got six.

Tonight’s game is a sellout.