COLLEGE NOTES : Respectfully Speaking, LMU Needs Sweep

What does a basketball team have to do to get some respect?

In Loyola Marymount’s case, probably win the West Coast Conference Tournament, which opens Saturday in Gersten Pavilion.

The Lions, who lead the nation with a record-shattering 125-point-per-game average, are 22-5 and have been on the fringe of the wire services’ Top 20 polls all season. The Sporting News, which prints its own Top 20, ranks the Lions 11th. They own road victories over Oregon State and LaSalle, both ranked higher.

Everyone in the know agrees that the Lions are a lock for an NCAA Tournament berth.

But for the sake of getting a good NCAA seeding and a favorable draw, Lions Coach Paul Westhead knows the safest route is to sweep through the WCC tournament--which guarantees the conference’s automatic NCAA berth--and go into the NCAAs on a roll. Westhead also knows the WCC was unimpressive this season and traditionally has not held much weight with the NCAA selection committee.

“We’ll try to finish as strong as possible,” Westhead said last weekend. “I know one way (to earn an NCAA berth)--win three games in a row. I’ll caution our guys nothing’s for sure coming out of our conference.”

The players are looking to win their third straight WCC tournament, then to make an impression in the NCAAs. After two straight NCAA appearances, they say they won’t be satisfied just getting there.

“We’re striving to be consistent, play the style of ball where we can beat the Top 10 teams in the NCAAs,” Bo Kimble said.

Hank Gathers noted: “We’re hoping to run into some of the big teams. It will do us justice to knock off some of them. We’re looking to do more than just getting to the tournament. We’ve done that the last two years and got knocked off early. We should get in and win more than two games.”

Two years ago, when the Lions had a 24-game winning streak and one of the best records in the country, they were still accorded little respect in the NCAA pairings. They opened against a higher-ranked Wyoming team and beat the Cowboys in the opener, then fell to North Carolina.

Last year, the Lions--missing injured starter Enoch Simmons--had to open against a strong Arkansas team and came up short.

This season, the Lions finally seem to be established--at least in the pollsters’ minds--among the nation’s top two dozen teams. They made a good impression by beating Oregon State and playing tough against Oklahoma when Gathers was out of the lineup. They have their deepest team in memory. Other coaches around the conference are saying that this team has the best chance of any WCC school in recent years to advance to the NCAA’s sweet 16, if they receive a respectful draw.

To get that, the Lions are probably advised to sweep the WCC tourney again.

A day in the life of Tom (the Human Bruise) Peabody is not like most people’s. Already nursing a bandaged thigh last Friday against the University of San Diego, the Loyola junior raced for a loose ball and ended up trying to vault the press table situated under the basket. He found a soft place to land--atop Channel 5 sportscaster Stu Nahan--but still came down on his wrist. After the game he was taken for X-rays.

The next night, against Santa Clara, Peabody appeared with his thigh and wrist heavily taped. Midway through the game he skinned a knee and had the bleeding joint taped without play even stopping. By the end of the game, he looked like Boris Karloff’s understudy for “The Mummy.” He has to wear a cast on the injured wrist when not playing or practicing.

Westhead, who refers to Peabody merely as “Bruise,” opened his postgame comments by noting wryly: “Bruise survived another game.”

Stat of the Week: On Saturday, the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s basketball team held a 28-26 halftime lead against Cal Poly Pomona--the first time they had a halftime advantage in the teams’ 21 meetings. Pomona, which has a 10-year conference record of 102-4, eventually won, 66-46.

Stat II: The Loyola Marymount trio of Bo Kimble, Hank Gathers and Jeff Fryer is averaging a combined 87.1 points per game--more than any other basketball team in the West Coast Conference.

College Notes: Cal State Dominguez Hills’ Van Girard was named California Collegiate Athletic Assn. women’s basketball coach of the year. The Lady Toros were 11-15, their best record in five years. . . . The Loyola Marymount baseball team, which lost to UCLA, 9-2, Wednesday, gets back to West Coast Conference play with a 2 p.m. game today and an 11 a.m. double-header Saturday, all at home against San Diego. The Lions are 8-6 overall, 3-2 in the WCC. . . . Loyola outside hitter Sio Saipaia was named Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. player of the week for his 35-kill performance in an upset of San Diego State. The 35 kills tied the league high this season. The Lions (2-6) play at UC Irvine tonight and at UC San Diego on Saturday. . . . Loyola’s Bo Kimble was named West Coast Conference basketball player of the week for a record sixth time this season. The WCC Player of the Year will be announced today. . . . Kimble needs 37 points to join teammate Hank Gathers as one of only 13 Division I players to score 1,000 points in a season. He’s averaging 35.8. . . . Former St. Bernard High star Kirkland Howling sank four free throws for Clemson in the final seconds Wednesday night to clinch a 97-93 victory over Duke. The win gave Clemson at least a tie for its first Atlantic Coast Conference title. Howling scored 10 points. Morningside graduate Elden Campbell led the winners with 22 points. . . . Despite its final 10-17 record, the Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team still led the CCAA in defense, allowing just 64.1 points per game. However, the Toros scored only 61.9. . . . The Dominguez Hills women’s team led the CCAA in steals with 313. Julie Scott and Brigette Frazier were tops with 43 apiece.