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Classic WCC Rival Showdown in Opener
Jan. 10, 2009 Malibu, CA - It was another classic in the 148th meeting between Loyola Marymount and their chief rival Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams, as the game featured 12 lead changes and three ties. Despite strong starts to each half, the Lions couldn't sustain it as they fell to the Waves 59-57 Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse. Jarred DuBois, who was coming off a freshman record 39 points last Sunday, led the Lions once again with 17 points, five assists and three rebounds. LaRon Armstead added 16 points and seven rebounds while Brad Sweezy came off the bench to score eight points with eight rebounds. "Coach (Jason) Levy came up with a smaller line-up in the second half and it really helped us jump out an get some points," said Acting Head Coach Max Good. "It hurt us on the other side as we just could not rebound as well. We really responded well but we have to be nearly perfect and have all of our options to compete in this conference." Freshman Kevin Young, the Lions' leading rebounder, played just 24 minutes and had no points and three rebounds due to foul trouble. "For us to compete we have to have two of our three freshman play superior and the third play well. We are not going to be very successful with Kevin Young on the bench." In addition, the Lions overcame the flu bug as DuBois did not practice all week and Armstead came down with the flu Friday. "We fought through it all and the game came down to the first half," said Good. The lead changed hands 10 times alone in the first half but the Waves took a lead as large as 10 at one point and led 36-27 at the break. The lead grew to 11 when the Waves scored the first bucket of the second half.
However, the Lions stormed back, going on a 15-0 run to retake the lead, holding Pepperdine without a point for more than nine minutes. Armstead's lay-up on a pass from DuBois gave LMU a 39-38 lead with 12:55 to play. Armstead was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to make it 40-38. Sweezy then put in a tip-in with 10:53 to play to make it 42-38. Pepperdine came back and scored the next seven points to take the lead for good, 45-42 with 8:29 to play. The Waves slowly added to the lead, going up by as many as nine, 57-48 on a three-point play by Mychel Thompson with 44 seconds to play. DuBois and Sweezy hit back-to-back buckets to cut it to 57-52. Corbin Moore then went 1-for-2 on free throws with 14 seconds to make it 58-52. DuBois hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds to make it 58-54. Then Keion Bell hit 1-of-2 free throws to push the lead back to five. The two free throws proved to be huge as Armstead hit a bank shot from beyond half court at the buzzer. The Lions continue conference play at Saint Mary's on Thursday at 6 p.m. |
