COLLEGES / ALAN DROOZ : Loyola Marymount’s Six-Game Win Streak Is One for the Book

The Loyola Marymount men’s basketball team is showing signs of becoming the little team that could.

After getting off to a rocky 0-5 start in West Coast Conference play, the Lions have won six in a row--five of them conference games--and are envisioning a “Rocky”-type finish. If they continue to move up in the WCC, call it a storybook ending.

It all started with a children’s book.

The day after the Lions lost their fifth in a row, 103-101, in overtime Jan. 25 at St. Mary’s, the sister of Lions forward John O’Connell gave a copy of “The Little Engine That Could” to Loyola sports information director Bruce Meyers as the team was boarding the bus for a game at the University of San Francisco.

On the way to the game, appropriately inspiring passages were read to the team (“I think I can, I think I can . . .”). Whatever the effect, Loyola played loose and won big, 118-90, and the book took the role of an omen of good fortune.

The book has been present at every game since.

Meyers, who carries the book in his briefcase, said: “Before warm-ups, O’Connell always looks over to me to make sure I have the book. I show it to him and he gives me the thumbs-up. It’s become sort of a good-luck charm.”

If not the storybook, then the Lions’ improved fortune over the past six games may be reflected in a better team effort and the fact that Coach Jay Hillock has been able to use the same lineup and substitution patterns over that stretch, unimpeded by injuries for the first time this season.

In the six-game streak, the Lions are shooting 48% from three-point range and 52% overall. Scoring leader Terrell Lowery’s average has tailed off slightly to 25.3 during the winning streak, but his field goal percentage in that period is 51%.

Czech center Richard Petruska has become a consistent force in the middle, averaging 18.3 points and avoiding foul trouble as he becomes accustomed to collegiate officiating, and shooting guards Ross Richardson and Craig Holt are a combined 37 of 68 (54%) on three-point shots. Richardson has hit 60% of his three-point shots over the six-game stretch and ranks among national leaders at 55.3% for the season.

Hillock also has new-found confidence in backup point guard Greg Walker, who is playing more minutes and allowing Lowery to rest and see some time at the shooting guard position.

“It’s starting to come together,” Hillock said. “The biggest difference is we’re getting contributions from everybody.”

The Loyola Marymount baseball team slipped in the national rankings but can make up some ground with a three-game West Coast Conference series at San Diego that starts with a 2 p.m. game today. The Lions, 6-5 overall, essentially changed places with rival Pepperdine in the poll, dropping from 10th to 20th in the Collegiate Baseball poll while Pepperdine moved to 12th.

The Lions and Waves got off to 2-1 starts in conference play last weekend. The Lions, 9-6 winners in a nonconference game Tuesday at Cal State Fullerton, have won four of five. San Diego is 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the WCC.

Pepperdine, 6-2 overall, played USC to a 5-5 tie Tuesday. The Waves play host to St. Mary’s (2-4, 1-2) in a three-game weekend series.

Lion designated hitter Joe Testa went into the week third in WCC batting at .457. Teammate Gerrado Perez leads the conference in runs batted in with 15, followed by Pepperdine’s Dan Melendez at 12.

Streaking: Dominguez Hills first baseman Darrell Conner had his 17-game hitting streak stopped in a game against USC Wednesday. The Toro senior’s streak had started last season.

Conner already owns the school record for a one-season streak with his 19-game skein in the middle of last season.

Conner was trying to break Fred Hanker’s school record of 22 games that started during the 1985 season and continued into the 1986 season.

Conner walked twice against the Trojans, a game the Toros lost, 6-2. The Trojans were aware of Conner’s hot hitting.

“They didn’t throw him a strike all day,” Toro Coach George Wing said.

Conner is hitting .600 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and 13 runs batted in. The Toros (2-5) play host to Sonoma State at 2:30 today and 1 p.m. Saturday.

Stat of the Week: TGIF isn’t the motto of the Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team, which is 0-5 in conference play and 1-6 overall in games played on Friday nights. Saturday marks comeback time--the Toros are 4-0 in CCAA play and 13-3 overall in Saturday games.

Notes

Loyola Marymount’s Terrell Lowery was named West Coast Conference basketball co-player of the week for the second time this season. The junior guard averaged 31 points and made 31-of-53 shots from the field. Lowery shared the award with St. Mary’s Thurman Watson . . . Brian McCloskey’s 12-point effort Saturday at Portland was his first double-figure game since Dec. 2. Loyola’s sophomore forward has been playing sporadically with a stress fracture in his lower back and has missed 11 games since mid-December. . . . The Lions set a school record with 24 steals at Portland Saturday.

Loyola senior Tricia Gibson’s next rebound will give her the school season record of 238. She also owns the career record. Teammate Lynn Flanagan has set a team record for points in a season (411) and career (1,378) and free throws in a season with 128. The two play their last home games as the Lions, who are fighting to stay out of the cellar in the WCC at 2-8, against Portland (1-9) tonight and Gonzaga (2-8) Saturday. Both games start at 5. . . . Dominguez Hills assistant basketball coach Gary Cain sang a well-received rendition of the national anthem preceding Friday’s game against Cal State Lost Angeles, which drew 1,012, the largest crowd for a Toro game in six seasons. . . . Dominguez Hills freshman Karee Bonde set another school record for three-point baskets, hitting five in a victory over Cal State Los Angeles. It is the third week in a row that she has extended the record. . . . Melissa Punch of the Dominguez Hills softball team extended her hitting streak to 21 games, dating to last season. She got two hits as the Lady Toros split a doubleheader with Christ College Tuesday. They play Saturday at San Diego State.