It’s Now or Never for Lions : Basketball: Loyola Marymount takes a nine-game losing streak into a conference tournament game against Pepperdine.

With his men’s basketball team in the throes of its worst season in a decade, it would be easy for first-year Loyola Marymount Coach John Olive to dwell on the negatives.

But as the Lions prepared to play rival Pepperdine in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the University of San Francisco, Olive was upbeat.

“We’re happy to be playing at all with our record,” Olive said. “Only in America could a 7-19 team be three games away from a berth in the NCAA tournament.”

Although that might be true, the prospect does not appear bright for Loyola.

The Lions have lost nine games in a row and have not won since they defeated St. Mary’s on Jan. 30. Loyola’s last victory away from home was Dec. 30 when it beat Buffalo, 76-72. Buffalo finished 5-21.

Pepperdine has a seven-game winning streak over Loyola, including an 80-54 victory on Feb. 20 in Malibu--the Lions’ worst defeat to the Waves since a 104-71 loss in 1979. Pepperdine (20-6) has won three consecutive conference titles and is seeded first in the tournament.

Loyola also has several players who are injured. Guard Bill Mazurie is doubtful for the tournament because of a groin injury that has forced him to miss most of the conference season. Forward Wyking Jones is questionable after suffering a sprained ankle against Portland last week, and forward Zan Mason has a bruised shoulder that has limited his playing time in the last four games.

Mason, a junior, leads the Lions in scoring at 14.4 and rebounding at 6.8. But after leading the conference in scoring early in the season, Mason has slipped to fifth.

“The injury has just compounded things for Zan,” Olive said. “Every time he goes out there, it seems like he keeps taking big hits. So he hasn’t played a lot in the past few games. He’s been unable to practice because of it, and it’s tough to play well if you don’t practice.”

But Olive said the Lions have maintained their intensity.

“Any time you lose nine games in a row, it can be very difficult on a ballclub,” he said. “From a psychological standpoint, this is a gut check for us to see what kind of character we have and I think we’ll be ready. The kids have shown to me that they’re resilient and, hopefully, they’ll be ready to bounce back.”

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury is wary of the Lions.

“They’ve had their problems, but they’re still a very well-coached team,” he said. “We know we’ll have to be ready for them because we know they’ll be ready for us.