Waves vs. Lions: A Worthy Centennial : Loyola Hopes to Run Win Streak to 18 Tonight

Most games between Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount have been important in the long rivalry between the schools, but their 100th meeting should be a worthy centennial observance.

The Waves lead the series, 54-45, and will play the Lions at 8 tonight before a sellout crowd at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. However, almost certainly, Pepperdine has never met a Loyola team as strong as this one.

Coach Paul Westhead’s Lions (20-3 overall and 10-0 in the West Coast Athletic Conference) have won 17 straight games, the longest winning streak this season among NCAA Division I teams, and are leading the nation in team scoring with an average of 108.8 points a game.

For the first time in school history, Loyola has broken into the national college basketball rankings. The Lions are ranked 20th this week in both the Associated Press and United Press International polls. For Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick, being an underdog to Loyola is something of a new experience. In eight seasons, his Waves (16-7, 8-2) have won five WCAC championships and are 13-3 against Loyola. He is 3-1 against Westhead.

Harrick, whose teams have been in the Top 20 a couple of times, said it is a big accomplishment for a WCAC team to break into the polls. He said that Loyola is “an immensely talented basketball team” and deserves “to be ranked. They’ve had a marvelous season.”

That’s not to say that Harrick and his team wouldn’t like to make the season a little less marvelous for Loyola.

The Lions, who won their only WCAC championship in 1961, try to fast break every time they get the ball and rely on a full-court, man-to-man press in an effort to force opponents into picking up the tempo and making turnovers.

But point guard Corey Gaines, one of the chief cogs in the Loyola attack, was injured in Friday’s night’s game against the University of San Francisco, and a school spokesman said that Gaines has only “a 50-50 chance” of playing tonight. Gaines, who was averaging 18.6 points and 8.5 assists a game, fell while driving to the basket and sprained ligaments in his lower left leg.

Westhead was quoted as saying that he doesn’t know if the Lions “can win without Corey Gaines. He’s valuable to the way we push the ball.” If Gaines cannot play, he will be replaced by junior Enoch Simmons.

The Lions still have plenty of firepower without Gaines. Center Hank Gathers leads the team in scoring at 21.9 points a game, followed by guard Bo Kimble (20.5) and forward Mike Yoest (17.9). Jeff Fryar, Kimble’s backup, is averaging 11.7 and Simmons, 8.8.

“I don’t know if we can stop them but maybe we can contain them a bit,” Harrick said.

“I’m more worried about how we perform,” he said, adding that he doesn’t plan to change his “coaching philosophy when you play Loyola. Maybe they make you change it, I don’t know.

“I’m not sure there is a secret to beating Loyola because they have such a fine group of athletes. We need to take care of the basketball, rebound effectively at both ends of the floor and do our best to get back on defense.”

Harrick said that his team, which has won 10 of its last 12 games, also likes to run. But he said, “We’re more of a controlled fast break team that uses controlled defensive pressure. We don’t fast break every time; we do it when it’s available.”

The Waves will be without their starting point guard. Marty Wilson injured his left knee against Portland on Jan. 29, has undergone surgery and is out for the season. Senior Donny Moore has replaced Wilson and has been in double figures in assists in several games.

Pepperdine forward Tom Lewis is the conference’s leading scorer at 22.7, and teammate Levy Middlebrooks leads the WCAC in rebounding with 10.1 a game and is averaging 18.8 points. Guard Craig Davis, the Waves’ best three-point shooter, is averaging 15.8 points.

Westhead said his team “must contain both Lewis and Davis, and we have to keep Middlebrooks off the boards.”

He added that he is “expecting a high scoring game. . . . I know we’ve had a few of (them) this year.”