A year ago sophomore guard Keion Bell had the game of his young college career at War Memorial Gym on the Hilltop of San Francisco single-handedly carrying the Waves with 32 points on 13-of-14 shooting.
How quickly things change in 12 months.
The men’s basketball team had their second lowest scoring total of the season in a dreadful 77-47 loss to the Dons Thursday in The City by the Bay.
It was the Waves (7-18 3-6) sixth straight WCC loss after starting conference play 3-0.
The Dons (10-15 5-5) used a 21-2 run to close out the first half (and to some extent the game) and USF sophomore Angelo Caloiaro hit a five 3-pointers in the second half on the way to a career high 21 points.
All-WCC Dons forward Dior Lowhorn continued his strong play against the Waves with 18 points and seven rebounds.
After mid-range jumpers by Pepperdine forwards Corbin Moore and Jonathon Dupre put the Waves ahead 15-12 with 5:39 to go in the first half the team went ice cold allowing the enormous run by the Dons while only shooting 24 percent and going to the free throw line once in the first half.
A 15-2 run by USF early in the second half shut out all hope for the Waves as the Dons created 14 points off careless Pepperdine turnovers while getting to the line 26 times and shooting a firm 45.3 percent from the field.
Bell’s heroics of last year were a distant memory Thursday as the young scoring point guard connected on only 5 of 21 from the field and never got to the foul line.
Although Bell played a team high 30 minutes he did not start for the Waves as freshman Josh Lowery got the nod from head coach Tom Asbury.
The Waves slide in WCC play is a troubling one after opening conference with three dramatic home wins against Loyola Marymount Santa Clara and USF. They have lost their last five games by an average of 22 points.
Santa Clara (10-17 2-8) host the Waves Saturday night after falling to LMU at home 73-67 on Thursday.
