GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Photo by Ben Young/Ph. Edit.
The Pepperdine men’s basketball team continued its strong season at home over the past week, winning all three of their games on their recent home stand. The Waves hosted Colorado State, University of San Diego and University of San Francisco in the three contests.
Monday, Jan. 3, Pepperdine dominated the Colorado State Rams, winning 78-63 over the Mountain West Conference team. The Waves were able to take advantage of a poor shooting performance by the Rams to run away with the game in the second half.
Pepperdine got an outstanding contribution for senior forward Glen McGowan, who became the 31st Wave to score 1,000 points in his career with a 31-point, 22-rebound effort. His 22-rebound total was the highest total in nearly eight years for Pepperdine.
The coaches are ecstatic about McGowan’s rebounding and his conditioning. “We always knew he could score but his improved rebounding has been good to see, and his great conditioning allow him to play a full 40 minutes,” assistant coach Patrick Whitlock said. “He plays at such a high level, but now he’s able to play with that intensity for the entire game.”
Pepperdine also got major contributions from junior guard Alex Acker, who had 18 points and five assists, and senior forward Yakhouba Daiwara, who chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Waves pressured Colorado State into turning the ball over 17 times and were able to hold the Rams sharpshooters to just 21.1 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Pepperdine opened regular season West Coast Conference play with a 83-67 win against the University of San Diego Toreros on Friday night. The Waves came out a little sluggish, allowing USD to lead for most of the first half. However, Pepperdine came storming back and took the lead going into halftime on a three-pointer at the buzzer by senior center Jesse Pinegar.
The second half showed how dominant these Waves can be. Over a 17-minute period, the Waves outscored the Toreros 42-11, building a 21-point lead at one point during the second half.
The Waves shot an outstanding 58.1 percent from the field during the second half while holding USD to just 35.7 percent. Pepperdine got a balanced performance from the “big three” of McGowan, Diawara and Acker. McGowan and Diawara each had 22 points while Acker contributed 21.
Acker’s 21 points made him the 32nd Pepperdine player to score 1,000 points in his career, just one game after McGowan scored his 1,000th point.
The beginning of the game baffled many fans in attendance because some of the starters early in the season were on the bench while some of the role players were in the starting five. However, the coaches said they aren’t worried about how shuffling the line up has affected the team.
“It’s been good for the team,” Whitlock said. “I mean, we’ve won four games in a row. All the kids on the team are team players and they can handle the adjustments. I think when we get a win, everybody’s happy.”
The Waves played their second game in three days when the held court against the University of San Francisco Dons. Pepperdine managed to pull out a 64-57 win over USF. McGowan again led the Waves in scoring with 27 points while playing 40 minutes for the second straight game.
Pepperdine struggled to get a lead in the first half for the second straight game. Sophomore guard Chase Griffin gave the Waves their first lead going into halftime with a layup to make the score 27-26.
The Waves came out strong in the second half yet again, going on an 11-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half, never relinquishing the lead again in the game.
The game was a hard-fought defensive battle. Only two players were in double figures in the entire game, McGowan and USF senior guard John Cox, who scored 28 in the losing effort.
McGowan’s strong performance this week netted him WCC Co-Player of the Week honors. The senior averaged 26.7 points and 12.7 rebounds over three games.
The Waves’ next two games are on the road against University of Portland and Gonzaga University. Pepperdine has been a .500 team on the road this season, splitting 10 games away from Firestone Fieldhouse. However, the team is 7-0 in Malibu this season, and 2-0 in WCC play.
The coaches are looking forward to a tough test against the reigning conference champion Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane. But they aren’t taking Portland lightly either.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time,” Whitlock said. “We won’t start focusing on Gonzaga until after the Portland game.
With how competitive our league is this year, it’s important to get any road win you can. We’ll focus on beating Portland, and then Friday morning we’ll shift our attention to Gonzaga.”
The Waves lost to Gonzaga by 30 points in Spokane last season as the Bulldogs finished the season perfect in WCC play.
01-13-2005
