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Pepperdine Beats Loyola, then Lion Coach Adds Shots

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What has been a long year for Loyola Marymount continued Saturday night at the hands of local rival Pepperdine. And a year’s worth of built-up frustration was released by Lion Coach Charles Bradley after the game.

The Lions lost, 77-65, before a season-high 3,044 at Gersten Pavilion on a night when former Loyola players Bo Kimble and the late Hank Gathers had their jerseys retired. The loss extended the Lions’ single-season school-record losing streak to 12 and dropped their record to 2-23 overall and 0-12 in the West Coast Conference.

Poor shooting did Loyola in once again. The Lions shot only 33.8% from the field and had only one player, senior Ruprt McClendon, shoot better than 50%. He had a team-high 22 points.

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“Our guys didn’t make a shot,” Bradley said. “Stanley Thorne, Curtis Slaughter, J.J. Sola. Those guys gotta make some shots.”

The three of them were a combined six of 28 from the field.

And the Lions were beaten in nearly every other phase of the game too.

Loyola was able to stay within six to 12 points throughout much of the game. But every time the Lions made a run, the Waves (21-6, 11-1) held them off.

“We had three guys show up emotionally that I thought were into the game,” Bradley said. “Everybody else didn’t understand what the hell was going on.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” Bradley said of playing on the night the jerseys were retired.

In particular, Bradley said he has been disappointed all season by the play of center Pablo Machado, a transfer from Georgia Tech, and forward Elton Mashack, a returning All-WCC player.

“With those two guys, we shouldn’t be where we’re at,” he said. “It’s got everything to do with those two guys. In order to succeed, they’ve got to step up.”

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