Loyola Gathers Itself, Sweeps Past Pepperdine, 75-62

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 (17-8, 7-5 in West Coast Conference play) improved their position in the conference with two games remaining. Loyola is tied for third place with San Francisco, two games behind Gonzaga and 1 1/2 games 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 Lion coach. “There are not many teams in 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 of 15 three-point baskets, led by sophomore forward Ben Ammerman, who made five of eight three-pointers and scored 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.”

Ammerman scored 14 points in the first half to help Loyola build a 10-point halftime lead. Center Ime Odouk muscled inside to score 11 of his 16 points in the second half, when the Lions led by as many as 16 points.