(Bryan Brenize -- The Beacon)
By Bruce Garlinghouse, Staff Writer -- garlingh13@up.edu
As the old adage goes, "Fool me once shame on you; Fool me twice shame on me."
Loyola Marymount may have been fooled twice during the season, but didn't let it happen in its third meeting against the Pilots in the first round of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas March 4, beating them 72-68.
"It's tough beating a team three times," senior Luke Sikma said. "When you play a team so much, they get used to you and less intimidated and have more confidence."
The Pilots beat the Lions in both meetings during the regular season. One went into double overtime, and the other was a 75-48 rout.
"It helped them a lot having (Drew) Viney back because he's such a good scorer," Sikma added.
Junior Drew Viney was out for three games toward the end of the season, including the last meeting with the Pilots, but made his presence felt, scoring 25 points for the Lions.
But it wasn't just Viney's return that presented a problem for the Pilots. LMU entered the game as the worst three-point shooting team in the WCC, but went 8-17 from beyond the arc.
"We weren't able to get stops," Sikma said.
The Pilots' struggles weren't limited to the defensive end of the floor. Entering the game as the No. 3 in three-point shooting percentage, the Pilots only hit 31 percent from deep, going 5-16 for the night.
In addition to their three-point shooting woes, the Pilots failed to convert a field goal in the last five minutes, with their only points coming off of Derrick Rodgers' free throws during that span.
The sophomore had two layups called off after being nailed with offensive fouls on both.
"We were getting the shots we wanted, but they just weren't falling," Rodgers said.
Rodgers' last two free throws pulled the Pilots back to within two, but the Pilots' hopes of continuing on in the tournament ended when LMU's Larry Davis immediately scored an uncontested layup on the ensuing inbounds play.
"I was kind of in disbelief," Rodgers said of Davis' layup. "It was unreal for a second."
This was the last game in WCC play for Sikma and senior Jared Stohl, who received First Team All-WCC honors and an Honorable Mention, respectively, and fellow senior teammates Kramer Knutson and Jasonn Hannibal. Sikma said he wanted the younger players to remember that moment.
"When you play college basketball, getting to the NCAA tournament is your ultimate goal. Realizing that's not going to happen is heartbreaking initially and I think that hits home with the freshmen and they seized that moment," Sikma said.
Rodgers said he will remember how he felt after the loss.
"The first thing I thought of was next year," Rodgers said. "Next year is going to be different, and I'm never going to have that feeling again."
The Pilots have received their third consecutive invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Invitational Tournament (CIT). The field for the tournament will be announced Sunday, March 13, according to CollegeInsider.com.
Rodgers said he is looking forward to getting the chance to continue playing.
"The seniors really want to play more and that, plus the loss, is really motivating us to do well in the CIT," Rodgers said.
