lmu wins final exhibition of preseason

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

LMU Wins Final PreSeason
Exhibition Game Easily--(Nov. 11, 2000)

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We weren't there today for the game at Gersten Pavilion, but we did hear about the win from John D. Shaffer, the SID at Loyola Marymount, who wanted us to help spread the apparent good news that LMU is now not only on a winning track, but on the way to acquiring the kind of mental attitude and toughness that it will take for this young team to become a factor in the WCC. Here's the official game report: from LMU:

Lions Earn 99-71 Win to Close Out Exhibition Play

Los Angeles, Calif. (Nov. 11)--With a 99-71 win over Son’s Blue Angels in their final exhibition game of the early 2000-01 men’s basketball season, one would expect Loyola Marymount University would be satisfied with the outcome. This is a new brand of Lion basketball, and the reaction was just the opposite.

“A win is a win,” said Head Coach Steve Aggers. “However, we didn’t execute or play well. The good thing is that the players themselves recognized that they didn’t play well. They were disappointed in their play and knew they could perform much better. That is sign that the players have raised the bar in themselves and the program.”

Despite the “poor execution,” the Lions finished with one of their best shooting efforts in over a year. The Lions shot 53 percent from the field (36-67), including 4-of-7 from the three-point line. The Lions’ improvement from the free throw line continues, as they finished the game shooting 23 of 30, including another stellar performance in the second half shooting 80 percent (20-25). The Lions shot 80 percent in their first exhibition win over Team Concept, including a 92 percent second half.

“We shot the ball much better today,” said Aggers. “We had a lot of players get valuable minutes on the floor, and that is what you need from an exhibition game. We tried different defenses and many different line-ups, which may have attributed to the sloppy play.”

What the coaching staff did see was a pair of double-double efforts from senior Elton Mashack and junior Greg Lakey. Both finished with 10 rebounds, while Lakey led the Lions with 20 points and Mashack with 18. Mashack finished the two exhibitions with a 21 point per game average, while Lakey finishes with a 9.5 rebound average heading into regular season.

“We got two wins coming out of exhibition and we played everyone while looking at different combinations. Now we head into our non-conference portion of our regular season,” said Aggers. “We have to use every game to prepare ourselves for league play. Our overall objective in non-conference is to get prepared for the West Coast Conference. That is our goal right now as we turn our focus to Vanguard University.”

Also scoring in double figures for the Lions was junior Robert Davis with 13 and Pablo Machado with 10. Freshman Sherman Gay had eight points on the afternoon. All 11 players for the Lions scored.

The Lions begin regular season on Friday, Nov. 11 at Gersten Pavilion against Vanguard University (tip-off at 7:05 p.m.) before heading on a four-game road trip to UC-Irvine, USC, Colorado and Idaho State.