Senior forward Boomer Brazzle scores four clutch points in the last minute as the Waves sneak by LMU.
By Kyle Jorrey
Sports Editor
Despite the fact that he only joined the college ranks a year and a half ago, Pepperdine’s Men’s Basketball Head Coach Paul Westphal, who spent eight years coaching in the NBA, didn’t forget the small quirks of coaching at the amateur level.
“There’s nothing like getting to ruin somebody’s Homecoming,” Westphal said after the Waves 70-67 victory over cross-town rival Loyola-Marymount last Saturday night.
In its most hard-fought conference win of the season, Pepperdine (11-7, 3-2 in WCC) won out in dramatic fashion at Gersten Pavilion as Boomer Brazzle nailed two free throws with 11 seconds left to push the lead to three.
A last second shot by the Lions to send the game to overtime was blocked by senior forward Jimmy Miggins.
The Waves came out slow on the road to start the first half, but were able to rally from an early nine-point deficit behind the play of Brazzle, who finished the game with 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
“We expected them to come out hard,” sophomore guard Terrence Johnson said. “They are cross-town rivals and we all know a lot of guys on the team, and that made the game fun — don’t nobody like to lose, especially to people you know.”
At the mid-way buzzer, the score was deadlocked at 39-39.
Senior guard Mike Westphal said the feelings at halftime were a mixture of confidence and dissatisfaction.
“I was frustrated looking up at the score and seeing it was tied,” Westphal said. “Looking at the stats I thought we would have been up more, but we all knew if we came out in the second half and played our game we would win.”
Pepperdine came out firing in the second half, thanks to the performances of Miggins and Johnson. Johnson hit two threes and Miggins, who finished the contest with seven assists, five steals and three blocks, made his presence felt all over the floor.
With 12:51 to play, Westphal, who played a stellar offensive second half, knocked down a three to put the Waves ahead 51-46, but the Lions refused to go down quietly on their home floor. LMU roared back to take the lead 54-53 with just under 10 to play. It would prove to be their last.
The Waves streaked ahead with a 7-0 run to push their lead to 60-54. After that, every time the Lions looked like they were going to come back, Pepperdine answered.
One of the biggest shots of the night was also the most unlikely.
Driving just past the three-point line, Westphal leaped toward the basket, got fouled, and heaved a desperation shot that looked at first like it wasn’t going to be close. Instead, it went right in.
“I felt a bump, and I didn’t think there was any way they weren’t going to call the foul, and if I didn’t shoot I was going to travel, so I just threw it up,” Westphal said.
Despite the fact Westphal missed the ensuing free throw, the Waves seemed to feed on the cheers of the crowd generated by the shot.
With two minutes left to play and the game still up for grabs, Brazzle scored on an uncontested lay-up on an assist from Johnson, just minutes after a questionable defensive foul was called against Brazzle, preventing what was going to be an easy score.
With the score at 68-65, a foul by the Waves sent rookie LMU guard Brandon Worthy to the line. The newcomer made both, and it appeared as if the entire crowd of 3,720 fans rose to their feet.
It was then that Brazzle caught the inbound, got fouled, and, amid the deafening roar of the home crowd, calmly hit the two free throws that would seal the game.
After the clutch shots, the senior, in typical Brazzle form, was modest.
“I think any one of us would have made the shots,” Brazzle said. “I just had to get it done to make sure we didn’t go to overtime.”
Coach Westphal said the win was the kind of victory he expects from his team, which improved its road record to an impressive 8-3.
“I have confidence in them to compete right up until the end, and do the things they’ve got to do to win,” Coach Westphal said. “My biggest contribution in the game was calling those two timeouts in a row at the end. That allowed us to get our breath, and use every bit of energy we had left to win the game.”
One of the bigger factors in the tightly matched game was the rebound play of the Waves, who seem to improve on the boards week to week. Pepperdine out-rebounded a similarly sized Lion team, 42-37.
They also forced 15 turnovers.
Though happy with the output, Coach Westphal said he isn’t convinced the team has its rebounding problems solved. “We need to find out if we can do it against a team that is larger than us … but we’ve really emphasized offensive rebounding, and the guys have really responded,” Westphal said.
This weekend the Waves are again on the road, this time heading north to face two teams much-improved from last season — San Francisco and St. Mary’s. on Friday and Saturday night respectively.
Both games will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live in Southern California on KPLS-AM 830and on the Internet via the Pepperdine athletics website.
Currently hanging on to third place in an up-for-grabs conference, the two games are crucial for the Waves chances to contend for a WCC title.
“Next week is a huge weekend for us,” Coach Westphal said. “The conference is so bunched up right now. (San Francisco and St. Mary’s) can move past us if they win, or we can put some place between us and them.”
With the much-anticipated rematch with Gonzaga in Malibu looming just over the horizon on Wednesday, the team is hoping for a weekend sweep.
“We’re going up there to get two wins, not one,” Mike Westphal said.
Gonzaga is currently 5-0 in conference, but has showed weaknesses in recent weeks having faced close games against both St. Mary’s and Portland.
January 30, 2003