Loyola to Go With Aggers

After more than a month of searching, Loyola Marymount will name Eastern Washington’s Steve Aggers its basketball coach today at a news conference.

Aggers, an assistant at Pepperdine from 1990-94, became the top candidate last week when Metro State Coach Mike Dunlap declined an offer to coach at the school.

In his five seasons at Eastern Washington, Aggers was 51-82 overall and 32-46 in the Big Sky Conference, leading his team to the conference tournament in each of the last three seasons. The Eagles had never made consecutive trips to the Big Sky tournament before Aggers’ arrival.

He was named conference coach of the year after the 1997-98 season.

He inherits a program that, under Charles Bradley, had its worst season, going 2-26, failing to defeat a Division I opponent and going winless in the West Coast Conference for the first time ever at 0-14.

This past season, Eastern Washington went 15-11 and 12-4 in the Big Sky conference, tying for first place.

But the Eagles lost their opening game of the conference tournament, 82-65, to eventual tournament champion Northern Arizona.