Men's Hoops Season Ends in WCC First Round
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 03/05/2010
Pepperdine-LMU Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Pepperdine men's basketball team gave a strong performance and was just one three-point attempt at the buzzer away from overtime, but the Waves fell just short against rival Loyola Marymount, 87-84, in a first-round West Coast Conference Tournament game on Friday night.
After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Waves rallied back to give themselves a chance at the end. The Waves got the ball back down by three with 15.1 seconds left, but a three-point attempt from the right wing by junior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) had to be rushed at the buzzer and missed the mark.
"I thought we competed hard and played hard," Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. "I thought the first two (regular-season) games that they came out and punched us in the face starting out the first part of the game. I thought tonight we kind of reversed it and got their attention at the start. We played well. It was a game we could have won but didn't. I think our effort was there and it certainly was a winnable game for us."
Sophomore guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) broke out of a scoring slump with 25 points, his 15th time this season with 20 or more points.
Sophomore forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) posted a career-high 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting and added 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Thompson and sophomore guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) each scored 10 points, while freshman guard Caleb Willis (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS) scored a season-high eight.
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 03/05/2010
Pepperdine-LMU Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Pepperdine men's basketball team gave a strong performance and was just one three-point attempt at the buzzer away from overtime, but the Waves fell just short against rival Loyola Marymount, 87-84, in a first-round West Coast Conference Tournament game on Friday night.
After falling behind by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Waves rallied back to give themselves a chance at the end. The Waves got the ball back down by three with 15.1 seconds left, but a three-point attempt from the right wing by junior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) had to be rushed at the buzzer and missed the mark.
"I thought we competed hard and played hard," Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. "I thought the first two (regular-season) games that they came out and punched us in the face starting out the first part of the game. I thought tonight we kind of reversed it and got their attention at the start. We played well. It was a game we could have won but didn't. I think our effort was there and it certainly was a winnable game for us."Sophomore guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) broke out of a scoring slump with 25 points, his 15th time this season with 20 or more points.
Sophomore forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) posted a career-high 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting and added 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.Thompson and sophomore guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) each scored 10 points, while freshman guard Caleb Willis (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS) scored a season-high eight.
The Waves (7-24) tied their season high for points with 84 and shot 43.5% from the field. They also made 23 of 28 free throws and had a 41-31 rebounding edge. The Lions (17-14) shot 46.6% but had an advantage by making it to the foul line more often, where they went 27-for-36. Vernon Teel scored a game-high 27 points and Ashley Hamilton added 23.
The first half saw nine ties and 12 lead changes. Trailing 20-18, the Waves went on a 7-0 run to grab their largest lead at 25-20 midway through the half. Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound and made a basket, freshman guard Joshua Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) sank a three-pointer and Bell hit two free throws.
The Waves still led by five at 27-22 after a lay-up by Darby, but LMU tied it with a 5-0 run. It was later tied at 33-33 but the Lions closed out the half on an 11-4 run. Pepperdine had its best first-half offensive performance in the last 10 games, but went into halftime trailing 44-37.
A 12-2 run near the start of the second half gave the Waves the lead once again at 51-50 with a little less than 15 minutes to play. Bell had half of Pepperdine's points during the run, including a three-pointer and a fast-break lay-up to finish it.
The Lions, however, scored the next 12 points to take their biggest lead at 62-51 with 10 1/2 minutes to go. Pepperdine would battle back once again, eventually cutting the deficit to two at 70-68 after Bell made another three-pointer with 4:40 to play.
LMU would keep its lead by making nine straight free throws at one point, and 11 of 13 in the final 2 1/2 minutes. But Jackson hit a three-pointer from the right wing with 23.5 seconds to make it 86-84, and the Lions' Drew Viney missed the second of two free throws. After Pepperdine moved the ball around the perimeter and looked for an open shot, Thompson had to hurry his three-point attempt at the buzzer and it didn't connect. While the season came to an end for the Pepperdine men, the third-seeded women's team will look to even up the score with LMU as they will meet the Lions in the quarterfinals on Saturday (March 6) at approximately 2:15 p.m.
The first half saw nine ties and 12 lead changes. Trailing 20-18, the Waves went on a 7-0 run to grab their largest lead at 25-20 midway through the half. Jackson grabbed an offensive rebound and made a basket, freshman guard Joshua Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) sank a three-pointer and Bell hit two free throws.The Waves still led by five at 27-22 after a lay-up by Darby, but LMU tied it with a 5-0 run. It was later tied at 33-33 but the Lions closed out the half on an 11-4 run. Pepperdine had its best first-half offensive performance in the last 10 games, but went into halftime trailing 44-37.
A 12-2 run near the start of the second half gave the Waves the lead once again at 51-50 with a little less than 15 minutes to play. Bell had half of Pepperdine's points during the run, including a three-pointer and a fast-break lay-up to finish it.The Lions, however, scored the next 12 points to take their biggest lead at 62-51 with 10 1/2 minutes to go. Pepperdine would battle back once again, eventually cutting the deficit to two at 70-68 after Bell made another three-pointer with 4:40 to play.
LMU would keep its lead by making nine straight free throws at one point, and 11 of 13 in the final 2 1/2 minutes. But Jackson hit a three-pointer from the right wing with 23.5 seconds to make it 86-84, and the Lions' Drew Viney missed the second of two free throws. After Pepperdine moved the ball around the perimeter and looked for an open shot, Thompson had to hurry his three-point attempt at the buzzer and it didn't connect. While the season came to an end for the Pepperdine men, the third-seeded women's team will look to even up the score with LMU as they will meet the Lions in the quarterfinals on Saturday (March 6) at approximately 2:15 p.m. 
Loyola Marymount 87, Pepperdine 84· View Photo
· Photo Gallery
PEPPERDINE
LOYOLA MARYMOUNTPoints
K. Bell 25
V. Teel 27
Rebounds
T. Darby 12
D. Viney 7
Assists
L. Jackson 5
V. Teel 3
Steals
K. Bell 2
J. DuBois 4
Blocks
K. Bell 1
D. Viney 3
· Team Stats: Pepperdine Loyola Marymount
Jan 9, 2010@PEPP 79, LMU 75
Recap Box Score
Feb 6, 2010 @LMU 77, PEPP 61
Recap Box Score
· Mar 5, 2010
@LMU 87, PEPP 84
Recap Box Score
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS -- Vernon Teel scored a game-high 27 points and Ashley Hamilton added 23 to lead Loyola Marymount past Pepperdine 87-84 in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament Friday night.
Tell, who had six rebounds, went of 9 of 13 from the field. Hamilton was 13 of 15 from the free throw line for the fifth-seeded Lions (17-14), and Jarred Dubois and Drew Viney added 12 points apiece.
The Lions will face No. 4 San Francisco (12-17) in the quarterfinals Saturday. Keion Bell led eighth-seeded Pepperdine (7-24) with 25 points. Taylor Darby added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Waves, who ended the season on a 12-game losing streak.After trailing 62-51 with 10 minutes left, the Waves cut the lead to 86-84 with 23 seconds remaining. But after Viney one free throw, the Waves could not get a potential tying 3-pointer off before the buzzer.
Loyola Marymount preparing to make run at West Coast Conference title
The fifth-seeded Lions would have to win four games in four days in order to capture their first conference tournament title since 1989.
March 04, 2010By Ben Bolch
Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press
Max Good isn't packing light for the West Coast Conference tournament.The Loyola Marymount basketball coach said he would bring four suits to Las Vegas "even if we were going to play the Bucks, the Thunder, the Lakers and the Celtics."
The fifth-seeded Lions (16-14) might feel as if they have survived a gauntlet of NBA teams if they are able to win four games in four days to capture their first conference tournament title since 1989.
Loyola Marymount's quest for an unlikely — and unprecedented — run starts at 6 Friday evening at Orleans Arena with a first-round game against eighth-seeded Pepperdine (7-23). A victory would move the Lions into a quarterfinal Saturday against fourth-seeded San Francisco (12-17), which has a first-round bye and twice defeated Loyola Marymount during the regular season.Waiting in the ensuing semifinal is top-seeded Gonzaga. The Bulldogs (24-5) are the defending tournament champions and have won five of the last six titles, but they won't intimidate the Lions if they get that far.
"We have a mantra that we respect everyone but fear no one," said Good, whose team upset then-No. 9 Gonzaga, 74-66, last month at LMU's Gersten Pavilion. The Bulldogs' only other conference loss came against San Francisco.
Sixth-seeded San Diego (10-20) plays seventh-seeded Santa Clara (11-20) in the other first-round game Friday, with the winner advancing to face third-seeded Portland (19-9). Like Gonzaga, second-seeded Saint Mary's (24-5) has a bye into a semifinal.Loyola Marymount has won three of its last four games after getting guards Larry Davis and Given Kalipinde back from injuries. The Lions have already earned 13 more victories than last season and could be on the brink of their first postseason appearance since advancing to the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight 20 years ago.
"I'd like to go over there and remove all doubt," Good said. "If we win three it wouldn't hurt, and four would guarantee it."
In that scenario, four suits might not be Good enough.
"I might pack five," he said, "for the celebration the next day."
ben.bolch@latimes.com
