Maynard comes to the Lions from Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz. His senior season saw him become one of the top players in the 5A Northwest region, leading the entire region in rebounds and blocks while ranking sixth in scoring. He finished the year averaging 9.1 rebounds per game, nearly two more per game than the next player in the rankings. He added 13.3 points and 47 blocks to his resume.

"Mason really turned into an impressive player as a senior," said Head Coach Rodney Tention. "He did some great things that showed us he will have a future as a Lion. He has good size and he has shown he can play well at both ends of the floor."

At 6-10, 220 pounds, Maynard brings more size to the Lions line-up. While leading Mountain Ridge to a 16-12 overall record and a 6-6 mark in 5A-Northwest play, Maynard tallied 11 double-doubles while putting up solid numbers in the process.

Against North Canyon he scored 21 points with 11 rebounds and seven blocks to lead Mountain Ridge to a 61-46 win. Some of his other double-double games included a 20-point, 12-rebound performance in the first meeting against O'Conner and then a 22-point, 18-rebound outburst in the second meeting. He also had 23 and 13 in the 62-56 win over Independence and 16 and 16 in the win over Flagstaff.

Following his senior season he also led the Arizona Magic Seniors this April at the Las Vegas Easter Classic. Featuring some of the best prep players in the nation, Maynard led the team to a final 16 finish in the event.

Maynard, who was a first-team All-Region selection, is the second Arizona stand-out to join the Lions for the 2006-07 season. Shawn Deadwiler II (6-3, 175, G, South Mountain), an All-State selection from South Mountain, also signed to join the Lions in 2006-07. Maynard and Deadwiler join fellow Arizona native Jon Ziri on the Lions' roster. Ziri started 27 games last season for the Lions and was among the conference leaders with 47 steals in leading the Lions to the title game of West Coast Conference championships in 2005-06.

Also joining the Lions as freshman in 2006-07 will be Terron Sutton (6-9, 230, F, Price High School), Brad Sweezy (6-6, 195, F, Ocean View High School) and Max Zuyderhoff-Craig (7-0, 260, C, St. Thomas More Prep).

After advancing to their first West Coast Conference Tournament championship game in 17 years, the Loyola Marymount wagering men's basketball team handed out their team awards at the annual year-end banquet on Saturday, March 11. Juniors Brandon Worthy and Matthew Knight shared the Most Valuable Player award.

Both Worthy and Knight earned first-team All-WCC and All-WCC Tournament honors in the 2005-06 season and will be the top inside-outside duo of the WCC next season. Worthy also earned the Captain's Award, Most Assists, Best Free Throw Percentage honor and Most Steals honor. Worthy finished second on the team with 15.0 points per game while leading the team with 53 steals (1.77 per game), 130 assists (4.33 per game) and 82.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Knight, who led the team with 16.2 points per game, also led the team with 10.0 rebounds per contest to earn Most Rebounds honor. Knight was the first player since Hank Gathers in 1989-90 to average a double-double. He finished the season with 17 double-doubles, the most Gathers had 26 in 1988-89.

Sophomore Jon Ziri had a breakout season and because of it he earned Most Inspirational and Most Improved honors for 2005-06. Ziri finished second on the team in steals with 47, leading the team with 30 against WCC opponents. Ziri entered the starting line-up in the fourth game of the season and his improved play kept him there the rest of the season. He finished the season averaging 5.8 points, 1.57 steals, 2.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Seniors Wes Wardrop and Chris Ayer took home the Senior Award. Wardrop, who earned first-team All-WCC honors, was also named Defensive Player of the Year for the Lions. Wardrop finished with 34 steals and was third on the team with 13.8 points per game. He led the team with 64 three-pointers and was second with 3.77 assists per game. Ayer, who also earned Mr. Hustle honors, had a season to remember, setting career highs with 9.4 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. He also had a career best 38 blocks.

Earning the Coaches' Award was freshman Chris Kanne and junior John Montgomery. Outstanding freshman honors went to Marko Deric. Montgomery earned a scholarship at the start of the season and did not disappoint, becoming the Lions sixth man off the bench this season. He averaged season highs in minutes (14.4 per game), points (89 - 3.0 ppg), assists (63 - 2.10 apg), steals (19 - 0.63 spg) and three pointers (14). Kanne earned a walk-on spot to the Lions' squad and appeared in seven games for the ncaa Lions. Deric's minutes improved late in the season as he played in 21 games and averaged five minutes a game.

Few generally keeps his game face on when he meets with reporters, criticizing aspects of his team's play even as its 18-game winning streak piled up. But after the Zags escaped Loyola Marymount 68-67 on Monday to win the West Coast Conference tournament, Few was positively jocular.

He heaped praise on the Lions, joked with reporters and teased Gonzaga star Adam Morrison about being carried off the court by fans. He also gently mocked Morrison for claiming that Erroll Knight deflected the potentially game-winning layup that Loyola's Chris Ayer missed at the buzzer.

"Mo's claiming that Erroll got a piece of it," Few said at the news conference, rolling his eyes.

Asked if he was worried when fans picked up Morrison, the leading scorer in the nation, Few said Morrison is a fan of mosh pits and knows how to handle himself.

Gonzaga is tied with George Washington for longest streak in the nation. The Zags (27-3) also lead the nation with 40 straight home wins, dating to 2003, and have won all 28 of their games in the 2-year-old McCarthey Athletic Center.

They have been a Top 10 team every week of the season, with every game televised and unprecedented national attention paid to Morrison, a candidate for player of the year.

Now the real hoopla begins, as the Zags prepare for an eighth straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Their goal: last beyond the second round, where they have been eliminated for three straight years.

The selections will be announced on Sunday, and Gonzaga is likely looking at a No. 2 seed. There is little of concern, as there was in the past, that Gonzaga will be punished with a low seed for playing in the lightly regarded WCC.

More troubling has been a recent trend of sloppy performances in WCC play. Before Ayer's improbable miss, they needed overtime to beat San Diego in the semifinals of the tournament. They were tied with San Francisco at the half in the game before that, trailed San Diego at halftime before that, and trailed Loyola Marymount at the half in the previous meeting between the teams.

Their offense has largely consisted of Morrison scoring 30 points, which he's done 12 times, and J.P. Batista scoring 20 points, which he's done 16 times. Batista was slowed with a knee strain and deep thigh bruise suffered in Sunday's semifinal win over San Diego, but he managed to score 13 points and grab 10 rebounds Monday.

Guard Derek Raivio continues to be inconsistent with his shot, and the rest of the team puts up role-player numbers.

Still, the Zags have been impressive in all of their big games this year, including a late season television showcase against Stanford.

And Few and his staff made some inspired substitutions in the second half against Loyola, bringing in Knight, Jeremy Pargo, and David Pendergraft to jump-start a team trailing 48-33 with just under 14 minutes left.

"We were stagnant," Few said. "We had no energy. It was time to see somebody else."

The trio sparked the huge comeback with offensive and defensive plays that rocked the Lions.

After the buzzer Morrison and Knight jumped on a scorer's table and celebrated with fans, who rushed the court.

But Morrison said his feelings after the win were mixed. He was thrilled with the victory, but that was tempered with the notion that he may have played his final home game before leaving for the NBA after his junior year.

"I've still got to make that decision," he told reporters.

Somehow this has all become routine at Gonzaga, a Catholic school of 6,000 students near downtown.

That's why there were some blank stares from the dais when reporters asked why the Zags didn't cut down the nets after Monday's win.

"We wanted to get off the floor," Morrison said.

"We cut them down last week, on senior night," a bewildered Few added.

Loyola Marymount is guided by the trio of Matthew Knight, Wes Wardrop and Brandon Worthy, and they are the main contributors to the team's scoring average of 73.1 ppg. Knight has been dominant in the low post for the Lions this season and is averaging a near double-double with 16.5 ppg and 9.9 rpg. Wardrop and Worthy are tied for second in scoring at 14.4 ppg, with Wardrop handing out 3.9 ppg and Worthy distributing a team-high 4.5 apg. In the team's last outing, LMU was outscored at the foul line, 21-6, and also committed 19 costly turnovers in an 11-point setback to Santa Clara. On a positive note, the team did manage to knock down 10-of-25 three-pointers in defeat. Worthy paced the Lions with 14 points and eight assists, while Wardrop had 13 points. Knight also got into the act, posting 12 points and nine boards in the losing cause.

The Gaels have done a solid job at the offensive end of the court this season, as they are averaging 70.3 ppg on 43.7 percent shooting from the floor. The team has also been effective on the boards, where it is grabbing 6.0 rpg more than its opponents on average. Daniel Kickert, who is shooting 47.0 percent from long distance, currently leads the team in scoring at 17.4 ppg and is also grabbing 5.8 rpg. Brett Collins has produced as well, and is turning in 11.2 ppg and 4.0 rpg. In the squad's previous outing, Kickert poured in 22 points and ripped down six rebounds to lead the Gaels to a 10-point win over Pepperdine. Collins added 15 points off the bench for Saint Mary's, which converted 25-of-32 free-throw attempts in the game. The team also banged home 9-of-23 three pointers, in addition to winning the battle on the boards, 41-33.

Saint Mary's has really come on down the stretch and that is bad news for the rest of the WCC considering the league tournament is just a few days away. The Gaels, behind a big game from Kickert, should be able to keep things going tonight with a win against a fading LMU club.