COC NOTES: OFFENSE BASED ON LOYOLA'S.

Byline: Scott Magoloff Daily News Staff Writer

If one were to look closely at the College of the Canyons women's basketball team practicing or playing a game, one might notice similarities to a certain notorious run-and-gun offense from the late 1980s.

Yes, COC coach Greg Herrick is, was and always will be a fan of Loyola Marymount University. And those high-octane teams from nearly a decade ago hold a dear place in his heart.

``It's the epitome of what we try to do in our system,'' said Herrick, an LMU alum. ``This is what we're trying to achieve. This is why we do our conditioning. To play in the system is something to watch; it's something to behold.''

For these reasons, Herrick keeps tapes of LMU games in his office. He uses them as teaching tools for his players, or, sometimes just relaxes while letting one play.

But his tape of of the LMU-Michigan game from 1988 - a game he attended and had a friend record - actually caused a bit of a hitch in Herrick's game preparations for Irvine Valley on Saturday.

Apparently, one of his players or assistants decided to watch the Loyola game in Herrick's office Monday, and replaced it in the incorrect case. So when Herrick grabbed what he thought was a recent Irvine Valley game on tape, he wound up taking home the Lions-Wolverines matchup instead.

``I watch that tape regularly for inspiration, but somebody switched it in my office,'' Herrick said. ``When I got home I realized it was the wrong one. So I didn't get a chance to watch (the Irvine tape) until (the next night).''

.500 and climbing: The COC men's basketball team reached the .500 plateau by virtue of road wins against Antelope Valley and Victor Valley last week.

``We're at .500 now and hopefully we can improve on that, but we have a tough road ahead,'' said Canyons men's coach Lee Smelser, referring to the Glendale tournament, which began yesterday. ``We've got a two-game win streak and we'd like to keep the momentum going through the tournament. It looks like a real good field this year.''

Top of the class: Anthony Ellison had 32 points and 11 rebounds against Victor Valley. He made 16 of 18 free throws against the Victorville-based team and leads COC by hitting 77 percent of his foul shots, having made 44 of 57. He is fifth in the Western State Conference in free throw percentage.

Leaders: The Canyons men's team (6-6) is led by Ellison, who averages 17 points and six rebounds per game. Ron Slater scores 14 a game while grabbing six rebounds and Charles Madison averages 13 points per game. Eurskine Robinson is second in the conference averaging 6.4 assists per game.

Wipeout: You're supposed to respect your elders. On Saturday, the COC women's team blew them off the court.

Canyons (5-1) defeated Barstow College 101-48. The Barstow program is in its first year and had to sign warm bodies to get the team afloat. Thus, there is a 38-year-old on the roster, which has an average age of 25. Barstow lost 101-47 to Ventura on Friday night.

``Obviously, when a team loses by 60, it's difficult to find motivation,'' Herrick said. ``I'm not big on making lies to make them play. I'm not going to say if we don't play, we're going to lose. That wasn't going to happen.''

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PHOTO College of the Canyons men's coach Lee Smelser has directed the Cougars to a .500 record with a pair of recent road wins.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News