Losses Continuing to Mount for Winless Lions : College basketball: Loyola, which has the nation’s longest losing streak, may have to do without senior forward Zan Mason this season.

By now, Loyola Marymount’s long-suffering basketball fans have all asked the same question:

When are the Lions going to win a game?

With Monday night’s 92-91 overtime loss to Fairfield, Loyola dropped to 0-9 and extended the nation’s longest current Division I losing streak to 19 games. The Lions claimed that dubious distinction after Youngstown State ended an 18-game losing streak with an 80-62 victory over Central Connecticut State on Dec. 29.

Loyola has not won since Jan. 30 of last season and is off to its worst start since opening the 1981-82 season 0-10 on the way to a 3-24 record, the worst in school history not counting a 2-26 season in 1979-80 that included 12 forfeits because of an ineligible player.

The Lions, who have lost their last three games by a total of seven points, including two in overtime, think they are close to turning things around.

But a potentially season-ending injury to senior forward Zan Mason has weakened the team’s outlook. Mason, an All-West Coast Conference selection last season, tore ligaments in his left knee Dec. 30 against Texas A & M and will miss a minimum of six weeks. He was Loyola’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder.

For a team short in experienced front-court players, Mason’s injury could make it tough for the Lions to avoid repeating as the last-place team in the conference. They are currently the only WCC team with a losing record and open conference play Jan. 14 against St. Mary’s at Gersten Pavilion.

Despite Loyola’s problems, second-year Coach John Olive has maintained a positive outlook.

“No one is happy on this basketball team, but everyone feels they are getting better individually and getting better as a team,” he said. “We shot ourselves in the foot at the end of a lot of these close ballgames. The kids feel if we can fine-tune a few areas, we’ll be all right.”

Olive said he isn’t concerned about Loyola’s losing streak, which is partly the result of a demanding nonconference schedule that included games against two top 20 teams--UCLA and Wisconsin--as well as USC and Nevada Las Vegas.

“I wouldn’t have scheduled the way I scheduled if I was worried about something like that,” Olive said, referring to the losing streak. “I consider ourselves 0-9. This is this year’s basketball team. If (the streak) had been a factor, I would have scheduled easy early on and ended it.”

Even with a demanding schedule, though, Olive didn’t expect to still be looking for the season’s first victory. Loyola hopes to get it Friday night when it plays host to Buffalo (4-8), a 90-72 loser to Cal State Northridge on Tuesday. The Lions won at Buffalo last season, 76-72.

“It’s been very frustrating,” Olive said. “We’ve lost three overtime games and a two-point game in the last 2 1/2 weeks. We just haven’t gotten it done.

“But I’m just like the kids. Each game is a new game, each day is a new day. You can’t overwhelm yourself with what went on the night before.”

Olive, who signed a five-year contract before the 1992-93 season, said he hasn’t felt any pressure to win because of his 7-29 record at Loyola.

“The administration has been fabulous and the boosters have been outstanding,” he said. “They appreciate the effort the kids have put forth. Crazy as it sounds, they all see improvement and feel we’re on the right track.”