COLLEGE NOTES / ALAN DROOZ : Loyola’s Trip South May Be Countdown to Disaster

With apologies to David Lettermen, our Top 10 Slogans for Loyola Marymount’s basketball tour to 13th-ranked Oklahoma on Saturday--when the Lions were scored on Sooner and later and lost resoundingly, 172-112--to No. 12 Louisiana State on Thursday and to No. 23 Georgia Tech on Saturday:

10. If Sherman could take Atlanta, why not Peabody?

9. Hey, these looked like great games on paper last March.

8. Bo knew . . . when to go to the NBA.

7. ESPN--Where the petite play the elite.

6. Loyola Lite--All the run, half the gun.

5. Dixie Death Detail.

4. All things considered, we’d rather be in Philadelphia.

3. A fast meal for Shaquille.

2. SOMEBODY DIAL 911 !!!

1. Playing the Top 20 for guaranteed money.

Frequent Fliers: By the time Loyola Marymount plays its first home game Dec. 29, the Lions will have played 14 consecutive games on the road, dating back to the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. In that span the Lions will have played in five time zones and faced teams from 12 different states, including eight schools that appeared in the NCAA Regionals last March--Nevada Las Vegas, Michigan, Alabama, UCLA, Georgia Tech, LSU, Oklahoma and New Mexico State.

Systematic: Chris Nikchevich, who played point guard for Paul Westhead’s 1986-87 team at Loyola, has taken the Westhead system to Crespi High in Encino, where he is producing some impressive results in his first season as head coach.

After five games, the Celts were 3-2 and doing a pretty good Loyola impersonation, having scored 93, 96, 84, 120 and 93 points. With the team scoring a school-record 120 against Calabasas, guard John Curtin set an individual record with 43 points, making 11 three-point shots. That broke the school record of 41 set by future pro Paul Mokeski in 1975. On the same night the varsity scored 120, the Crespi junior varsity scored 125.

Streaking: The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s basketball team won its seventh consecutive game Tuesday night, tying the school record. Tuesday’s 57-56 victory over La Verne raised the Lady Toros’ record to 9-1, which matches their best start ever after 10 games.

Coach Van Girard’s big force in the middle has been sophomore center Dionne Vanlandingham, who had 15 rebounds Tuesday. She leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game and rebounding at 13. The Long Beach Poly graduate has led the team in rebounding in eight of the 10 games and the last six in a row, twice getting 19.

Another key performer has been senior forward Devon Akita, who got only five points Tuesday but matched her career high of 19 twice in victories last week. She also leads the team in steals with 36. Akita and guard Denise Slater are second on the Toros in scoring at 13 points apiece. The other starters are in double figures as well, with forward Cheri Bullet at 11.2 and guard LaRonda Poydras at 10.4.

Part of the reason for the fast start: The Lady Toros have played seven of the 10 games at home.

Something for Everyone: At last week’s Loyola Marymount basketball game, Athletes in Action testified for Jesus at halftime, and the Budweiser Lite Daredevils performed afterward.

College Notes:

Soccer forward Martin Mira of Cal State Dominguez Hills was selected first team all-Far West. . . . Loyola senior Kristen Bruich tied her own school basketball record for assists in a game with 11 last week against Texas-El Paso. Bruich is second in the West Coast Conference in scoring at 19.7 per game, and teammate Lynn Flanagan is fourth at 18. The Lions are the highest-scoring team in the WCC, averaging 84.7. . . . Joli Eberhart of Golden West College, the most valuable player in the state community college volleyball championships, has made a verbal commitment to attend Loyola next fall. Eberhart, a 5-foot-7 outside hitter, had 21 kills and 21 digs in Golden West’s state title victory over Grossmont. She’s a graduate of Mater Dei High in Orange County. . . . Eric Hill, a sophomore at Loyola Marymount, was named to the All-West Coast Conference soccer second team. The Lions’ Jim Murphy and Tom Stevenson earned honorable mention. Top award winners were Paul Holocher of Santa Clara, most valuable player on offense, Trong Nguyen of San Diego, defensive MVP, and San Diego’s Seamus McFadden, coach of the year.