DAVID NAKAGAMI
Staff Writer
The 3,600 fans in attendance at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday were in for a treat. In another brilliant bout between bitter conference rivals, the visiting Waves wrestled the Lions of Loyola Marymount University to an overtime contest, losing 89-78. In their previous contest two weeks ago, Pepperdine handed the Lions a devastating 70-62 defeat.
The two teams came into the contest with different goals. The Waves entered the match on a two-game losing skid, and looked to stop their slide. LMU had won both games since their loss to Pepperdine, and looked to avenge their latest setback.
Both teams started off slowly, shooting a combined 2-13 from the field in the first three minutes. However, the play picked up as the game advanced, with LMU jumping out to a seven-point lead, only to have the Waves surge ahead by five points seven minutes later. A layup by sharp-shooting sophomore guard Kingsley Costain gave Pepperdine a slim two-point lead going into the locker room at halftime.
Despite giving up 16 points from turnovers in the opening half, the Waves were able to offset the deficit by outscoring the Lions’ bench 17-4.
At the onset of the second half of play, Pepperdine fought to keep the lead. They were successful until Lions guard Wes Wardrop made a layup at the 15:45 mark to tie the score at 42. From that point, the Waves were unable to regain the lead for the rest of the game.
“We played hard. We just have to play within ourselves,” said freshman forward Willie Galick.
LMU pushed its lead to nine and looked to take the victory. Nonetheless, the Waves refused to give in. Within the last minute, Pepperdine went on a 7-1 roll. The run culminated with junior guard Gregg Barlow sinking a three-point shot to knot the score at 73 for the 12th time of the game. With the score tied, the game progressed into overtime to decide the winner.
A depleted and drained Pepperdine team was only able to make good on one of its five shots taken in the extra period. LMU shot 3-5 from the field in OT, and coupled with 10-15 shooting from the free throw line, secured the win 89-78.
The numbers of the game were very misleading. The Waves won all three percentage categories (FG, FT, 3PT). Yet, LMU had eight more points in the paint, more than double the second chance points and twice the fast break points. A telling statistic was the whopping 26 turnovers Pepperdine committed, which led to 29 points for LMU.
The loss continued Pepperdine’s freefall, prolonging the losing streak to three games. It also dropped the Waves’ conference record to 3-7, ranked sixth of eight teams. For the victors, the second-seeded Lions (8-2 WCC) added more much-needed momentum heading into Spokane, Wash. for a match against the undefeated conference-leading Gonzaga Bulldogs (10-0 WCC). This exciting meeting may very well be a possible championship match up in next month’s West Coast Conference Tournament.
With freshman floor leader Mike Gerrity out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his ankle, the rest of Waves squad was forced to pick up the slack. Galick admitted that the injury came as a shock to the team. Pushed into Gerrity’s point duties, Barlow had team-highs in points (18) and assists (six) as he started and played 44 minutes. Center Russell Hicks had a solid game off of the bench, putting in 12 points and eight rebounds.
Galick stoically said the team’s goal for the rest of the season could be summed up in three words, “Get some wins.”
The Waves plan to get on their goal this Saturday, when the Portland Pilots bring their 2-8 conference record to Malibu for Pepperdine’s Homecoming celebration. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse. On Monday, Pepperdine hosts fifth-ranked Gonzaga at 9 p.m. in a game televised on ESPN2.
02-16-2006