Loyola Completes Sweep of Pepperdine

Loyola Marymount Coach John Olive pointed out Saturday night that most of his players probably failed to take notice the last time the Lions swept Pepperdine in a regular-season basketball series.

“Some of these kids were in fifth grade,” Olive said. “It was a real significant night for us.”

With a 75-62 victory before 2,418 at Gersten Pavilion, Loyola completed a two-game sweep of its rival for the first time since the 1987-88 season, when Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble were Loyola sophomores.

More importantly, at least to this year’s team, the Lions improved their position in the West Coast Conference with two games remaining. Loyola, 17-8 overall and 7-5 in the WCC, is tied for third place with San Francisco, two games behind Gonzaga and a 1 1/2 behind Santa Clara.

Last-place Pepperdine (9-15, 2-10) continued to slide in the opposite direction with its sixth consecutive defeat, the team’s longest skid of the season.

Loyola’s 17 victories represent the most in a season since the 1989-90 team that reached the final eight in the NCAA tournament.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” said Olive, referring to the high-water mark in his four seasons as the Lions’ coach. “There are not many teams on the West with 17 wins. We’re proud of that.”

Olive was also proud of his team’s shooting. The Lions made a season-high eight three-point baskets in 15 attempts, led by sophomore forward Ben Ammerman, who made five of eight three-pointers and finished with a game-high 21 points.

Ammerman’s long-range accuracy drew Pepperdine out of a zone defense early in the game, forcing the Waves to fight an uphill battle.

“Ammerman shot the lights out,” Pepperdine interim Coach Marty Wilson said. “We had to come out of [our zone]. That hurt us.”