Loyola Marymount Ends 11-Game Losing Skid

Entrenched in an 11-game losing streak, Loyola Marymount needed a victory, regardless of the opponent, before West Coast Conference play opens next week.

The Lions got that victory Saturday night against a Division III team.

Senior guard Mihail Papadopulos set career highs with 12 points and seven assists, and sophomore guard Curtis Slaughter had 13 points and a career-high eight rebounds as Loyola Marymount defeated Occidental, 69-50, before 633 at Gersten Pavilion.

“We stopped the bleeding,” Lion Coach Charles Bradley said. “That was extremely important. We had to stop the bleeding.”

The Lions (2-11) also received a game-high 14 points from freshman forward J.J. Sola.

Papadopulos, making only his second start this season, and Sola were hot early, scoring 10 of the game’s first 14 points as the Lions jumped out to a 12-2 lead over the Tigers (5-6).

Though Loyola Marymount had good performances from three of its starters with leading scorer Rupert McClendon out with a sprained ligament in his right ankle, center Pablo Machado and forward Elton Mashack, the team’s inside weapons, were held in check by a team whose tallest player is 6 feet 7 and in foul trouble all game.

Machado had seven points and Mashack nine. Bradley wanted to work the ball to more of his players Saturday, but it’s clear Mashack and Machado need to be factors when WCC play begins. The Lions play host to San Diego in the conference opener Friday.