Men’s Basketball
The men closed out their 2010-2011 season with a tough 76-59 loss to San Francisco on March 6 in Las Vegas for the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Championships. The Waves were competing in the quarterfinal after an exhilarating 84-81 against San Diego the night before. This season marked the men’s most victories since the 2004-2005 season as their final overall record was 12-21.
Looking forward to next season current junior guard Lorne Jackson will return as the team’s leading scorer for his senior season. He average 13.8 point per game this season and was added to the list of WCC honorable mentions.
Senior forward Mychel Thompson ended his four-year career with the Waves with 11 points against the Dons. The game on March 6 game marked Thompson’s 128th game with Pepperdine an all-time school record. He also notched 1413 points while playing at Pepperdine which ranks 14th on the Waves’ career records list.
Leaving along with Thompson next season is Head Coach Tom Asbury who announced his retirement March 10. In his place for next season is current associate head coach Marty Wilson. A 1989 graduate of Pepperdine Wilson has served as the associate head coach for the past three seasons.
Although Asbury did not attend Friday’s press conference he did give this statement to Pepperdinesports: “As I announce my retirement I would like everyone to know how much I have appreciated the opportunity to coach at Pepperdine the past three seasons and for a total of 18 seasons. Special thanks go out to athletic directors John Watson and Steve Potts for their support but I’d also like to thank all of my assistant coaches managers trainers and support staff over the years. Without all of their contributions we would not have been successful. I’ve also coached a lot of wonderful players in my time here and I would thank them as well.”
Look for a more in-depth article in next week’s printed Graphic.
Women’s Basketball
The Pepperdine women’s basketball team entered the West Coast Conference Championship tournament as the No. 3 seed but fell to San Diego in the quarterfinals of the tournament March 5 in Las Vegas.
The Waves were fighting against a 20-point halftime deficit and were unable to overcome it before the final buzzer sounded with the Toreros up 77-68. Junior guard Lauren Bell had a career-high 22 points in the game.
On March 1 when the WCC announced it’s All-Conference team Pepperdine’s junior guard Jazmine Jackson was named to the team and voted Defensive Player of the Year. Forward Robie Mayberry was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team continues their season this weekend with tonight’s match against No. 15 UC San Diego at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves are coming off a tough 3-0 to No. 7 UC Irvine last Thursday.