Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball

Loyola Marymount Lions
Loyola Marymount Lions
	2024-25 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team
University	Loyola Marymount University
Head coach	Stan Johnson (5th season)
Conference	West Coast Conference
Location	Los Angeles, California
Arena	Gersten Pavilion ; (capacity: 4,156)
Nickname	Lions
Colors	Crimson and blue;
Uniforms
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1990
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1961, 1990
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1988, 1990
NCAA tournament appearances
	1961, 1980, 1988, 1989, 1990; vacated by NCAA
Conference tournament champions
	1988, 1989
Conference regular season champions
	1961, 1988, 1990

The Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represents Loyola Marymount University in men’s college basketball. The team competes in the West Coast Conference. The team has played its home game at Gersten Pavilion since 1981.^[2]

Loyola Marymount's last appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 1990, where they advanced to the Elite Eight. They lost to eventual national champion UNLV. Prior to the NCAA tournament, Lions star player Hank Gathers died during the West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament from a heart condition. The Lions defeated New Mexico State, defending champion Michigan, and Alabama. The 1990 squad was also the highest scoring team in NCAA Division I history with an average of 122 points per game.

History

Loyola Marymount has played in the West Coast Conference since 1955, when the Lions and Pepperdine Waves joined the hitherto Northern Californian league that included Santa Clara University, the University of San Francisco, Saint Mary's College, and the University of Pacific. LMU has played in the WCC ever since, fostering heated rivalries with all WCC members, especially Pepperdine University and the University of San Diego, a WCC member since 1979.

LMU's early basketball history produced two Lions better known for their coaching tenures at other WCC schools than their LMU careers. Pete Newell and Phil Woolpert were classmates at LMU, graduating in 1939. Newell went on to coach the San Francisco Dons to the 1949 NIT title, and the California Golden Bears to the 1959 NCAA tournament championship. Newell is considered one of the most influential coaches in the history of basketball. Woolpert coached the legendary Bill Russell and K.C. Jones led University of San Francisco Dons to NCAA championships in 1954 and 1955.

Though LMU represented the WCC in the 1961 NCAA tournament, the Lions were consistently also rans in the WCC which included powerful University of San Francisco and Santa Clara University teams. Of note from LMU's early WCC teams is Rick Adelman, the 1968 WCC Player of the Year, who enjoyed a 7 year NBA career followed by a 30-year NBA coaching career.

The Lions burst onto the national basketball scene in the late 1980s under coach Paul Westhead. His teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5) and 1990 (122.4).^[3] LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010.^[4] As of October 2010, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined scoring games in Division I history. Four of the five occurred during Westhead's career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989.^[5]

Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble transferred to LMU from the University of Southern California.^[6] In the 1988–89 season, Gathers became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season, averaging 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.^[7]^[8] In the 1989–90 season, Kimble led the nation in scoring averaging 35.3 points per game. Both Gathers and Kimble were consensus second team All-American selections in 1990.^[9]^[10]

In the 1989–90 season, during the second round of the WCC tournament, Gathers collapsed and died on the court due to a heart condition. The team nevertheless reached the Elite Eight in the 1990 NCAA tournament. Its three postseason wins included a 149–115 regional victory over Michigan that established NCAA men's tournament records for points by one team and combined points in a single game. The Lions ultimately were eliminated by UNLV, a team that went on to win the national championship. Loyola Marymount's final record was 26–6. Gathers (#44) and teammate Bo Kimble (#30) later had their jerseys retired by LMU.

LMU alumnus Mike Dunlap took over the program in 2014 and guided the Lions until the end of the 2020 season. Dunlap was formerly the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats.

On April 8, 2020, Stan Johnson was announced as the 27th head coach of Loyola Marymount.^[11]

Postseason results

NCAA tournament results

The Lions have appeared in the NCAA tournament five times. Their combined record is 5–5.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1961	Regional semifinals Regional 3rd-place game	Utah USC	L 75–91 W 69–67
1980	First round	Arizona State	L 71–99
1988	First round Second Round	Wyoming North Carolina	W 119–115 L 97–123
1989	First round	Arkansas	L 101–120
1990	First round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	New Mexico State Michigan Alabama UNLV	W 111–92 W 149–115 W 62–60 L 101–131

NIT results

The Lions have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1986	First round Second Round	California Wyoming	W 80–75 L 90–99

CIT results

The Lions have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) two times. Their record is 2–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2010	First round	Pacific	L 76-86
2012	First round Second Round Quarterfinals	Cal State-Fullerton Weber State Utah State	W 89–79 W 84–78^OT L 69–77

CBI results

The Lions have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) one time. Their record is 2–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2019	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals	California Baptist Brown South Florida	W 56–55 W 81–63 L 47–56

Retired numbers

Loyola Marymount has retired two jersey numbers, both being two members of the 1990 Sweet Sixteen team.

No.	Player	Pos.	Career	No. ret.	Ref.
Loyola Marymount Lions retired numbers
30	Bo Kimble	SG	1987–1990	February 19, 2000	^[12]
44	Hank Gathers ^{[n 1]}	F	1987–1990	February 19, 2000	^[13]

Notes

^ Posthumous honor.

Lions in professional basketball

The following Lion players have played in the National Basketball Association (NBA):

The following Lions are playing in international basketball:

James Batemon III (born 1997), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Gabe Levin (born 1994), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Eli Scott,basketball player in the Slovak Basketball League

References

^ "Colors – Loyola Marymount University". June 1, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
^ "Loyola Marymount Official Athletic Site - on Campus". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
^ NCAA (November 10, 2010). "2010–11 NCAA Men's Basketball Records - Division I Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. p. 39. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 12, 2011.
^ NCAA 2010, p.5
^ NCAA 2010, pp.28–29
^ Florence, Mal Taken From 3 USC Freshmen: Lewis, Gathers and Kimble Receive Word From Raveling. Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1986
^ Hersch, Hank (February 13, 1989). "Gathers 'round The Rim". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
^ Maxey, Wendell (March 4, 2010). "Hank Gathers' legacy endures 20 years after tragic on-court death". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.
^ NCAA 2010, p.23
^ NCAA (October 31, 2008). "NCAA Men's Basketball Records (Award Winners)" (PDF). p. 137. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011.
^ "LMU Names Stan Johnson Men's Basketball Head Coach". LMULions.com. Loyola Marymount University. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
^ Kimble bio at Lmulions.com
^ Gathers bio at Lmulions.com

External links

Official website

[post-13] Posthumous honor.

[1] "Colors – Loyola Marymount University". June 1, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.

[2] "Loyola Marymount Official Athletic Site - on Campus". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-29.

[3] NCAA (November 10, 2010). "2010–11 NCAA Men's Basketball Records - Division I Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. p. 39. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 12, 2011.

[4] NCAA 2010, p.5

[5] NCAA 2010, pp.28–29

[6] Florence, Mal Taken From 3 USC Freshmen: Lewis, Gathers and Kimble Receive Word From Raveling. Los Angeles Times, April 15, 1986

[hersch-7] Hersch, Hank (February 13, 1989). "Gathers 'round The Rim". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 6, 2012.

[maxey-8] Maxey, Wendell (March 4, 2010). "Hank Gathers' legacy endures 20 years after tragic on-court death". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011.

[9] NCAA 2010, p.23

[10] NCAA (October 31, 2008). "NCAA Men's Basketball Records (Award Winners)" (PDF). p. 137. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011.

[11] "LMU Names Stan Johnson Men's Basketball Head Coach". LMULions.com. Loyola Marymount University. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.

[12] Kimble bio at Lmulions.com

[14] Gathers bio at Lmulions.com

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v t e Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball
Venues	Alumni Memorial Gymnasium (1948–1981) Gersten Pavilion (1981–present)
Culture & lore	Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 No records 1914–1923 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e Loyola Marymount University
Located in: Westchester, Los Angeles, California
Schools	Law Center for the Study of Los Angeles
Athletics	Loyola Marymount Lions Baseball Men's basketball Women's basketball Gersten Pavilion George C. Page Stadium West Coast Conference
Campus	KXLU Crimson Circle Tsehai Publishers
People	List of Presidents Alumni
Founded: 1911

v t e West Coast Conference men's basketball
Teams	Gonzaga Bulldogs (leaving in 2026) Loyola Marymount Lions Oregon State Beavers (leaving in 2026) Pacific Tigers Pepperdine Waves Portland Pilots Saint Mary's Gaels San Diego Toreros San Francisco Dons Santa Clara Broncos Washington State Cougars (leaving in 2026)
Future teams	Grand Canyon Antelopes (joining in 2025) Seattle Redhawks (rejoining in 2025)
Championships & awards	Tournament Player of the Year
Seasons	1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24