Feb. 19, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team will close out its regular season this weekend with key West Coast Conference games at Loyola Marymount and league-leading Pepperdine.
Friday's game at LMU is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m., while Saturday's contest at Pepperdine is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start. A sweep of both teams would guarantee at least a share of third-place in the final WCC regular-season standings, depending on the weekend results of San Francisco.
Santa Clara enters the weekend with a 12-13 overall record and a 7-5 mark in league play following a sweep of San Francisco and Saint Mary's last weekend at the Leavey Center. With two games remaining, the Broncos are guaranteed at least a .500 record in league play for the eighth-straight season.
Senior forward Steve Ross leads the Broncos in scoring with a 15.8 points per game average, while freshman Jordan Legge continues to lead the team on the boards with 5.0 rebounds per game. Senior David Emslie registered his best games of the season last weekend, posting a double-double against USF with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high three assists. He also blocked two shots against the Dons.
Loyola Marymount is 9-17 overall and 2-10 in league play. The Lions recorded a 7-7 non-conference mark with impressive wins over Texas A&M, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State and Idaho State. Loyola Marymount began conference play with a 2-1 record with wins at Saint Mary's and Portland before entering its current nine-game losing streak. Last weekend the Lions dropped an 83-79 overtime loss at Portland. Greg Lakey leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 11.2 points and 5.6 boards per game. Kent Dennis, tied for third on the team in scoring with an average of 10.0 points per game, has led the Lions in three of their last four games.
Pepperdine is 18-7 overall and 11-1 in the WCC. The Waves are tied with Gonzaga for first-place in the league standings following a 91-78 loss to the Bulldogs last weekend in Spokane. The loss snapped an 11-game win streak against WCC opponents, dating back to last season's league tournament semifinal loss to Santa Clara. Five Waves scorers average in double-figures, led by Jimmy Miggins' 15.0 points per game, for a team that scores an average of 81.0 points per game. Miggins is also the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.8 boards per game. Should Pepperdine and Gonzaga tie for the regular-season league title, the conference office will conduct a coin-flip to determine the top seed in next week's WCC Tournament in San Diego.