Loyola Will Attempt to Avoid Sequel to Lost Weekend : Basketball: Coach John Olive hints at using a bigger lineup as Lions prepare for St. Mary’s and San Francisco.

Like the Buffalo Bills, losers of the past two Super Bowls, the Loyola Marymount basketball team is looking for redemption this week.

The Lions, whose season has been characterized by dramatic ups and downs, hit a low-water mark in the Bay Area last weekend, losing back-to-back West Coast Conference games against St. Mary’s, 93-74, and the University of San Francisco, 94-72.

“No one has beaten us that convincingly all year,” Loyola Coach John Olive said.

The Lions (6-10, 1-3 in the WCC) get a chance for revenge when they meet St. Mary’s (5-10, 1-3) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and San Francisco (12-7, 2-2) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Gersten Pavilion.

Before last weekend, only three opponents--Nevada Las Vegas, Southwestern Louisiana and Fairfield--had scored more than 80 points in a game against Loyola, and no team had scored in the 90s.

St. Mary’s entered Friday’s game averaging a conference-low 57 points. But the Gaels took advantage of a gambling Loyola defense to score many uncontested baskets and nearly double their normal scoring output. St. Mary’s shot 52.6% (30 of 57) from the field. Saturday night, San Francisco shot 54.5% (30 of 55) against the Lions.

In contrast, Loyola shot 38% (27 of 71) against St. Mary’s and 43.1% (25 of 58) against San Francisco. Loyola made only six of 34 three-point shots in the two games, including just one of 11 against San Francisco.

“We just didn’t play well,” Olive said. “Offensively we struggled. We didn’t execute well. I would think that the opposing coaches thought they had something to do with that.”

Loyola played most of last weekend without point guard Bill Mazurie, who sprained an ankle in the first half against St. Mary’s.

“Not having Billy for three of the four halves hurt,” Olive said.

Mazurie, Loyola’s second-leading scorer with an 11.6 average, is listed as day-to-day but is expected to play this weekend. The junior ranks third in the conference in assists, averaging 4.9 a game.

Olive said he wants Loyola to emphasize its strengths: tough, half-court defense and up-tempo offense. He said the Lions got away from their game plan last weekend after falling behind. St. Mary’s and San Francisco each scored more than 50 points in the second half, pulling away after Loyola’s gambling, trapping defense failed to produce comebacks.

“We’ve got to get back to the basics,” Olive said. “After evaluating (game) films, I think we got away from the things we do well. We have to be aggressive, play hard, take good shots, box out and rebound.

“I want my kids shooting the ball. I want them to have that freedom, but (they) have to take shots they have a legitimate chance of making.”

Olive defended his defensive strategy in last weekend’s games.

“We didn’t start gambling until the games were out of reach,” he said. “I’m the type of guy who is going to use all 40 minutes to play the basketball game. If we’re going to lose by 100, we’ll lose by 100, but I’m going to make an attempt to win the basketball game.”

Because Loyola has been overmatched physically in recent games, Olive said he might start utilizing a bigger lineup. That would mean playing front-court players Brian McCloskey (6-foot-8), Christian Scott (6-8), Wyking Jones (6-7) and Zan Mason (6-6) more as a group.

“I want three of those four on the floor more often,” Olive said.

Mason, the conference’s leading scorer with an 18.3-point average, played inconsistently last weekend. He matched his career high with 29 points against St. Mary’s, but scored only 13 on five-for-13 shooting in 37 minutes against San Francisco.

“We play him an awful lot of minutes,” Olive said of Mason. “Teams are packing in on him. It wears him down a little more.”

More than physically, though, Olive hopes that Loyola’s poor showing last weekend doesn’t begin to sap his players’ confidence.

“I want to make sure they don’t lose their spirit,” he said. “They have to keep their wits about them and realize they have to perform.”

Notes

Freshman guard Jonah Naulls, a non-scholarship player at UCLA and former standout at Beverly Hills High, has transferred to Loyola. He will become eligible early next season. Naulls’ father, Willie, who prepped at San Pedro High, played center at UCLA from 1954 to ’56 and holds the Bruin record for most rebounds in a game with 28. Jonah Naulls averaged 26 points a game during his senior season at Beverly Hills in 1990-91. He redshirted at UCLA last season. . . . Loyola has made at least one three-point shot in 198 consecutive games since the NCAA adopted the rule in the 1986-87 season, but the streak nearly came to an end Saturday against San Francisco. Reserve guard Cobi McElroy made the Lions’ only three-point basket with 3:15 left. It was the second game this season in which Loyola made only one three-pointer. . . . Besides leading the conference in scoring for the third week in a row, Loyola’s Zan Mason ranks second in rebounding (8.1 a game), third in blocked shots (1.0) and ninth in field-goal percentage (48.6%). Loyola guard Rahim Harris is tied for second in steals, averaging 2.3 a game.

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WCC Standings

Team WCC Overall W L W L Pepperdine 4 0 13 3 Gonzaga 3 1 11 5 Santa Clara 3 2 9 8 San Francisco 2 2 12 7 San Diego 2 3 7 8 Portland 1 3 7 9 Loyola Marymount 1 3 5 10 St. Mary’s 1 3 5 10