GARRETT WAIT
Sports Editor
Graham Shea/Ass. Ph. Edit.
The Pepperdine men’s basketball team’s two-game losing streak was extended to four over the weekend as the Waves dropped two games at home to West Coast Conference foes Saint Mary’s College and Santa Clara University. Pepperdine gets a chance to avenge those losses when they play rival Loyola Marymount University on Saturday.
Thursday night, the Waves took on Saint Mary’s, who came into the game tied for the lead in the WCC. Pepperdine was on a nine-game winning streak at home dating back to last season, but were unable to win a 10th game as they lost 70-63.
The game was marred by some questionable officiating on both sides of the court. Former University of North Carolina Head Coach and current College Sports TV announcer, Matt Doherty, described the game, which was televised on CSTV, as “the worst officiated game I have ever seen.”
Despite the poor refereeing, the game was hard-fought throughout. The lead changed hands 10 times in the first half alone, with Saint Mary’s dominating the last 3:27 of the half with a 7-0 lead to take the lead at halftime.
The Waves got a solid contribution from senior forward Yakhouba Diawara, who racked 20 points on 7-17 shooting from the field, including 4-5 from beyond the three-point arc.
As a team, Pepperdine shot 31.3 percent from three-point range. The Gaels on the other hand were dead-on from three, shooting 47.4 percent in the game, including 6-10 in the first half.
Saint Mary’s senior guard Paul Marigney led four Gaels in double figures with 16 points on the night and contributed seven rebounds.
Pepperdine senior Glen McGowan added 16 points and eight rebounds and freshman center Russell Hicks dropped 10 points and snared a career-high six rebounds in the game.
The Waves hosted fellow WCC member Santa Clara on Saturday, hoping to avoid their fourth-straight loss, including their second straight at Firestone Fieldhouse. But The Waves couldn’t slow down the Broncos and were defeated for the second time in three nights, 83-71
Santa Clara hadn’t won in Malibu in its last seven attempts prior to the game, dating back to the 1998 season. The Broncos wouldn’t be denied this time around, however, forcing the Waves into 19 turnovers and scoring 29 points off those turnovers.
“The thing that hurt us the most is the turnovers,” Head Coach Paul Westphal said. “We’ve been struggling to take care of the ball in crucial times and it’s no one guy either, it’s a team-wide problem.”
Pepperdine was down at halftime, but was able to take a 39-33 lead with 15:50 to play, they were unable to hold onto the lead as the hot-shooting Broncos guards racked up three-point baskets to take a commanding 14-point lead at three different points in the second half.
The Waves’ Alex Acker, a junior guard, scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Pepperdine. Redshirt sophomore guard Chase Griffin equaled his career high with 13 points and Diawara chipped in with 11 of his own. Hicks had an outstanding defensive game, totaling five blocks, a career high. Hicks also scored eight points, including two on an alley-oop dunk from Griffin.
“That play’s called Boston in our offense and we tried it three or four times before,” said Hicks. “It was open that second or third time and I just put it down. It was great feeling.”
Santa Clara senior guard Kyle Bailey led all scorers with 25 points and snagged eight rebounds as well to lead the Broncos to victory.
McGowan, who had scored in double figures in 28 consecutive games, failed to reach the 10-point mark, being held to just 9 points on 3-12 shooting. It was the first time since Jan. 31, 2004 that McGowan’s point total had been that low.
The Waves were once again outplayed on the boards, allowing Santa Clara to hold a 34-32 rebounding edge. It marked the 10th time this season Pepperdine has been outrebounded. The team is 3-7 in those games.
The Waves fell to 12-9 on the season and 2-4 in the WCC. Pepperdine sits in a tie for sixth place in the conference, 2.5 games behind Santa Clara and Saint Mary’s, who are both 4-1 in league play.
Pepperdine will return to action Saturday against WCC bottom-dweller LMU at Gersten Pavilion on the Loyola campus. The last time the Waves played at LMU, McGowan dunked home the winning shot with 0.0 seconds left on the clock. The Waves are preparing for another tough battle against the Lions.
“We know LMU is good at forcing turnovers and we’re trying to put in a few things on offense to make sure we don’t give them opportunities,” Westphal said.
Pepperdine will try to break their four-game losing streak at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Pepperdine students hoping to see the game can watch it live on Fox Sports Net West 2.
01-27-2005
