Loyola Gets Its Victory on the Rebound, 98-87

Loyola Marymount basketball Coach Paul Westhead says his team hasn’t played its best ball yet, but it may never rebound better than it did in a 98-87 victory over Cal State Long Beach Saturday night before a crowd of 1,850 at Loyola.

The physical game--what West-head called the “put-up time” variety--was controlled by Loyola, which had a 59-47 advantage on the boards. Junior forwards Mike Yoest and Mark Armstrong were particularly impressive with 14 and 13 rebounds, respectively, and center Darryl Carter added 9.

Their board work and the scoring of three players with more than 20 points enabled the Lions to build a 10-point halftime lead and hold off several late charges by Long Beach. The 49ers pulled within five points in the closing minutes but never got closer as Loyola made 10 straight free throws in the final 70 seconds.

The victory lifted Loyola’s record to 4-1, matching its best start in a decade. Long Beach had a three-game win streak snapped and fell to 4-3.

Yoest scored 30 points, 24 in the second half including 10 of 12 free throws, to pace Loyola. Point guard Chris Nikchevich scored a career-high 24 points, and guard Dennis Vogel had a personal-best 22, including 3-of-3 three-pointers.

Long Beach center DeAnthony Langston got off to a slow start but scored seven points down the stretch before fouling out to finish with a team-high 16 points and 12 rebounds.

His exit was costly. After the 49ers pulled within five, 84-79, with 2:21 left, Langston was called for his fifth foul and protested, receiving a technical foul. Loyola hit a free throw, kept possession and Yoest converted a three-point play to widen the lead to nine.

“I told our guys at halftime what got us up 10 was our boards,” Westhead said. “We were banging. . . . If there’s one sure remedy to winning, it’s to rebound. We’re going to be a better team. We can score more. In the meantime, I don’t know if we can rebound better than we did tonight.”

Loyola enjoyed leads as large as 18 early in the first half on the way to a 43-33 lead at intermission.

Vogel scored 7 of Loyola’s first 11 points as the Lions took a 16-5 lead, and Nikchevich scored eight straight points as Loyola built the lead to 28-10 halfway through the period.

Long Beach’s leading scorer, guard Morlon Wiley, finally got on the board with 6:40 left and the 49ers put on a 13-2 spurt to pull within seven. But Vogel went on another scoring streak to help the Lions maintain a double-digit lead.

Nikchevich had 13 points in the half and Vogel 12 to dominate the scoring. Wiley and Langston, the 49ers’ second-leading scorer, had only two points apiece at the half. Wiley finished with eight.