The 11-18 men’s basketball team 5-7 in Conference play has fared inconsistently this season. Most recently following the suspension of Keion Bell and Jonathan Dupre the Waves lost 82-79 against Loyola Marymount Wednesday Feb. 16 at LMU.
Correction: A previous version of this article which also appears in the print version of the Graphic incorrectly stated that Tanner Kerry was suspended last week. Kerry left Pepperdine in December on his own choosing. This article has also been updated to correct inaccuracies in statistics as well as dates and locations of coming games.
Last season the Waves tied for sixth in the West Coast Conference. With 14 returning players 10 veterans with 2 or more seasons with Pepperdine and 100 percent of last season’s scorers and rebounders the team hoped for better results given their potential.
“I’m not a big predictor in terms of win-loss records Head Coach Tom Asbury said in a preseason interview in October, but I think we’ll be an improved team and our win-loss record will show it.”
Last season the Waves had an overall record of 7-24. This season the Waves have relied on the scoring potential of former junior guard Keion Bell senior Mychel Thompson and junior Lorne Jackson who average 19 13 and 12 points respectively.
Thompson boasts a team high of 31 blocks on the season three times higher than that of the next highest player on the team. Jackson similarly leads the team in steals with 42 on the season 11 more than the next Thompson. However defensively speaking Bell has a total of 83 turnovers and Jackson has 71.
All in all the Waves have averaged 69 points 35 rebounds and 14 turnovers per game. With a .425 field goal percentage they leave a lot of points in the air that could help them out in their games averaging a negative 4.7 point scoring margin.
In their recent matchup against rival LMU Jackson threw up a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the hopes of tying the game after a come-back second half being down by 14 at the half but weren’t able to sink it leaving them with another loss. However a few games earlier Thompson threw up a last-second 3-pointer to send the game against USD into overtime and the Waves ended up winning 70-63.
With two more away games until the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas Nev. on March 4 the Waves face off against San Francisco and Santa Clara at 7 p.m. on Thursday Feb. 24 and Saturday Feb. 26 respectively.
