Despite the drama and excitement that came in the three-game winning streak including two nail biters during homecoming weekend the men’s basketball team did not find much success on its trip to the Northwest.
Pepperdine began the weekend with slight hopes of getting a first-round bye in the conference tournament March 6-9 in Las Vegas. After beating Santa Clara and a struggling San Diego squad the men took sole possession of fifth only being a half-game back of the fourth-place Broncos.
The Waves (8-20 5-7) had two of their worst shooting performances of the season losing both their games in the final road trip of the season. It didn’t help that the picturesque Northwest trip included the two best teams in the West Coast Conference: Portland and No. -17 Gonzaga.
Pepperdine may have let the bright lights of Vegas and the visions of spring break go to their heads Thursday having their worst shooting performance of the season (23.3 percent) and falling to Portland 74-45. The victory gave the Pilots (18-9 9-3) its best finish in the WCC since 1995 and a first round bye in the WCC tournament.
“It was a forgettable weekend said Head Coach Tom Asbury. One of those weekends where you regroup as a team and just put it behind you.”
Junior guard T.J. Campbell led the way for the Pilots scoring 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. After scoring the first bucket to go up 2-0 the Pilots jumped ahead to a 21-6 lead and never looked back obtaining a 39-18 edge at the half.
The Waves never quite found the mark throughout the game shooting an unimpressive 7-for-30 in both halves and hitting only two of their 30 three-point attempts. And the Pilots took advantage going on an 11-point run to take the lead to 30 at 50-20 with 15:25 still to play.
“We shot terribly at Portland and we didn’t even hit our free throws even though we are the best in the conferenceAsbury said. There are just some nights like that.”
Freshman guard Dane Suttle scored 13 points for the Waves. He made the teams first 3-point shot with only 9:12 to go while the Pilots hit five in the second half alone.
Saturday in Spokane Wash. freshman guard Keion Bell continued his streak of double-figure scoring with a team-high 17 points. But the 10th consecutive game wasn’t the lucky one as the Waves lost their 16th straight game to the Bulldogs 92-58.
The game was never close as Gonzaga’s senior forward Josh Heytvelt continued his dismantling of Pepperdine putting up a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds on 12 of 17 shooting. The Zags who have clinched the top spot in the conference tournament for the ninth year in a row. Heytvelt averaged 19.7 points and 10 rebounds per game against the Waves in his three years as a starter.
“[Gonzaga’s] seniors stuck around which is rare for good teams in college basketball Asbury said. They are beating up on freshman and sophomores that’s the bottom line. They have the best home court advantage in our conference with over 6000 fans at each game.”
Junior guard Matt Bouldin added 16 for the Zags who had four of its starters reach double-figures. Gonzaga shot 57 percent from the field and forced 21 Pepperdine turnovers.
Senior guard Mike Hornbuckle scored 12 points for the Waves all on three-pointers. Bell collected 10 rebounds as well for his fourth double-double of the season all recorded in conference play. Sophomore swingman Mychel Thompson continued to struggle with shooting going 1-for -12 from the field lowering his conference shooting to a paltry 30 percent.
“[The coaching staff] is trying to get him to the line more often and go to the basket to get offensive rebounds Asbury said. Mychel just has not shot the ball well but for good shooters all it takes is one game to get out of a slump. We need him to step up this upcoming weekend.”
In a sign of the times for the men’s team – who has witnessed four different head coaches in four years – the Waves have now reached 20 losses for the fourth straight season with the Bulldogs winning by an average of 26 points over the Waves in that span.
Picked to finish eighth in the conference by WCC coaches the Waves have an opportunity to close out the season at home on a strong note. They can finish no poorer than sixth as three Pepperdine seniors will play their last two games in Malibu during the weekend against Saint Mary’s and San Francisco.
SMC comes to the Fieldhouse today in third place but will not have star-point guard Patty Mills who is out with a broken shooting hand. The Gaels have slipped from being ranked 19th in the nation to struggling for their NCAA tournament lives.
Sophomore forward Gus Clardy will once again be called on to defend some of the nation’s best big men. SMC’s Diamon Simpon and Omar Samhan each average 13 points and 10 rebounds per game while San Francisco’s Dior Lowhorn leads the conference in scoring at 20 points per contest.
“Both teams are very physical upfront and we’ll have to establish our rebounding and transition defense early on in each game Asbury said. This is our last week to play in front of a home crowd so we’re going to try and make it a fun weekend.”