DAVID NAKAGAMI
Sports Assistant
The departure of Adam Morrison to the NBA and the indefinite suspension of star forward Josh Heytvelt left reigning West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga with big holes to fill in their quest to defend their title. However, with the help of Pepperdine’s victory Monday night, the Bulldogs sealed their seventh consecutive conference title. After coming out on the losing end of a 97-72 score against St. Mary’s on Saturday, the Waves upset then-conference leading Santa Clara at home in a thrilling overtime contest by a tally of 89-82.
Fresh from an invigorating victory against rival LMU in front of the Homecoming crowd, Pepperdine hosted the Gaels of St. Mary’s in their second-to-last game of the regular season.
Sophomore forward Willie Galick scored the first basket of the game. That was the last time the Waves would hold the lead in the game. The Gaels went on an 11-2 run following Galick’s score, and never looked back. At halftime, St. Mary’s held a 52-33 advantage, paced by 24 bench points to Pepperdine’s 13.
The Waves sunk deeper after the break, at one point falling behind by 29 points before losing by a 25-point deficit, 97-72.
Poor first-half play on offense and defense proved to be the downfall for the Waves, as they allowed St. Mary’s to shoot 58.1percent from the field while only shooting 38.7percent themselves. In addition, Pepperdine was outrebounded 25-8 in the first 20 minutes of play.
Galick paced the Waves with 14 points on 4-9 shooting from the floor and four rebounds. Freshman forward Blake Wallace added a career-high 13 points in the losing effort.
Pepperdine looked to complete the regular season on high note as they welcomed the Broncos of Santa Clara to Firestone Fieldhouse on Monday night.
Ironically, perhaps motivated by their lackluster play the previous game, the Waves bench came alive in the first half, pouring in 15 points. On the other hand, the Broncos’ reserves did not contribute a single point in the first 20 minutes.
The game was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams taking and relinquishing the lead in the early stages. With 10:49 left before halftime, the Waves took control of the game, pushing the tempo and the lead to 10 points on point guard Kingsley Costain’s three-pointer. At halftime, the Broncos found themselves down 40-31 going into the locker room.
Shane Griffin set the tone for the second half, connecting on a three-point bucket right out of the gate. Santa Clara would not go down without a fight, pulling out an 18-6 drive to take their first lead of the half with 10:21 left to play in regulation. From that point, the game returned to the neck-and-neck style with which it began. With the Waves down three points and 16 seconds left on the clock, Galick made a crucial layup and was fouled in the process. The powerful forward then made the extra free throw to knot the game at 75. After two game-winning attempts went amiss, Santa Clara went into overtime with the Waves.
Senior Gregg Barlow’s lay-in to begin the overtime period bumped Pepperdine ahead, and the Waves continued to build on the lead. In the extra five minutes, senior guard Chase Griffin scored seven of the team’s 14 points. A free throw by Chase with six seconds remaining secured Pepperdine’s triumph over a heavily-favored Santa Clara team by a count of 89-82.
Chase had arguably the best performance of his collegiate career in the final regular season game of his senior year. Chase put up a career-high 34 points on 11-16 shooting from the field in 37 minutes of play, shattering his previous best of 32 points he set a week earlier against LMU. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and went to the line 12 times, making good on nine of those opportunities.
“I had no idea that I had 17 points at halftime,” Chase said. “It’s amazing when you feel like you can score at any time. Also, when you get to the free throw line, it helps out a lot.”
His latest show of offensive prowess capped a season in which he led the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game, good for third-best in the conference. For Chase’s consistently strong play over the course of the regular season, he was named honorable mention All-WCC on Tuesday.
“It’s an awesome honor,” Chase said. “To go from not playing at all a few years ago to honorable mention is great.”
Still, he said getting that win over Santa Clara in the final game was more important to him.
The victory concluded a frustrating regular season for the Waves, one in which they finished with a 4-10 conference record (tied for last) and an 8-22 record overall. Significantly, the win knocked the Broncos from atop the WCC, allowing Gonzaga to sneak in and retain their hold on the regular season title with a win over San Diego the same night.
While the Waves face a tough journey in their quest for the WCC Tournament title, it also presents the opportunity for Pepperdine to prove their worth. Beginning Friday, March 2, the WCC Tournament will be held at Chiles Center on site at the University of Portland. Although tied with Portland for last in the conference, the Pilots’ regular season sweep of Pepperdine gives Portland the seven-seed and drops Pepperdine to the eighth spot.
The 2007 WCC bracket matches No. 8 Pepperdine against No. 5 San Diego on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Waves dropped both head-to-head games against San Diego this season, losing by four in Malibu and by 12 at San Diego. The winner of this matchup will face No. 4 San Francisco on Saturday at 6 p.m. No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 2 Santa Clara earned byes for the first two games, and will not play until the quarterfinals on Sunday.
To make a successful run in the postseason, the Waves have narrowed their focus to one main fundamental element.
“We need to pass the ball,” said Galick simply. “Sharing. That’s what Coach has been emphasizing.”
Chase echoed the feelings of his teammate.
“Everyone needs to play unselfishly,” the senior stated. “It’s about making the extra pass.”
With all past mistakes forgotten, the Waves look to the “new” season, the postseason, as the set of games that matter most. An underdog Pepperdine squad looks to carry momentum into Portland and shake things up.
“Beating the No. 1 team was huge,” said Chase of the Waves’ season finale win over Santa Clara. “It goes to show that it’s anybody’s ball game.”
03-01-2007
