Tonight

* LONG BEACH STATE (0-1) at LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (0-0), 7--Loyola opens its season with hopes of improving on a forgettable 1997-98 campaign, when the Lions were 7-20 and finished last in the West Coast Conference under first-year Coach Charles Bradley. Loyola’s best player is 5-foot-4 point guard Haywood Eaddy, who averaged 15.2 points a game last season and in two exhibitions this month, both Loyola victories, averaged 23 points, 11 assists and 5.5 rebounds. Guard Willie Allen, who averaged 9.2 points last season, is the Lions’ only other returning starter. Long Beach hopes to improve on its opener, an 83-65 loss to Cal State Northridge last Saturday at the Pyramid. The 49ers’ top three scorers against the Matadors--center Mate Milisa and forward Richie Smalls, with 16 points each, and guard Ramel Lloyd, with 15--are newcomers to the program. Milisa and Smalls are junior college transfers and Lloyd, expected to be the 49ers’ best player, is a transfer from Syracuse.