Pepperdine Snaps USD’s Home-Court Streak, 60-50

In Saturday’s West Coast Athletic Conference opener against Pepperdine, the University of San Diego inched closer in its quest to play two consistent halves of basketball.

But the Toreros’ goal remains unfulfilled today because of five minutes of inconsistent play in the first half. During that span, Pepperdine was able to build a lead that it held onto in its 60-50 victory before 1,870 fans in the USD Sports Center.

“To beat them, we would have had to play the 40-minute game,” said USD forward Anthony Reuss, who led the Toreros with 11 points. “I think we did play better than we have been, but we still played about five minutes where they got their lead.”

Said Torero guard Chris Carr: “We just got down by about 10 points and couldn’t get out of that hole. After that, we played them about even. But if you play even after you’re down, you lose. They’re just a well-balanced team.”

The loss snapped USD’s six-game winning streak. It also ended a 10-game winning streak at home this season and a 15-game home streak dating back to last season. The Toreros’ last home loss was against Gonzaga, 60-58, in last season’s WCAC opener exactly one year ago.

Pepperdine (2-0, 13-6) has won seven straight games. The Waves opened conference play with a 77-62 win at Loyola Marymount on Thursday.

Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick thought Thursday’s game proved tiring to the team, especially in the second half when USD had a chance to get back in the game.

“I thought we played all right in the first half, but we were sluggish in the second half,” he said. “To play that way in the second half and win, I’ve got to be pleased. We didn’t shoot the ball tonight. We had the shots and missed them.”

The Waves hit 50% of their shots from the field in the first half while the Toreros (0-1, 11-5) connected on just 37%. In addition, Pepperdine held an 8-2 edge at the free throw line for a 38-24 halftime lead. Pepperdine finished the game with a 16-4 edge at the foul line.

The Waves, who entered the game with each starter averaging in double figures, were led by forward Eric White’s 20 points. He scored 14 in the first half and was singled out by Harrick for both his offensive and defensive play.

“I liked his offense,” Harrick said, “but I also liked his defense on (USD center Scott) Thompson and his rebounding over Thompson.”

Thompson, a 6-11 sophomore, scored just two points in the first half and was limited to eight for the game. White held an 8-4 edge over Thompson in rebounding.

Reuss kept the Toreros close in the game’s opening minutes. He scored seven of the Toreros’ first nine points as the teams traded leads through the game’s first seven minutes.

With 13:05 remaining in the first half, Thompson scored to give the Toreros a 13-12 lead. Pepperdine freshman center Levy Middlebrooks came right back with a basket to give the Waves a lead they would not lose for the remainder of the game.

Pepperdine began moving away from that point when USD had its inconsistent spell. The Waves gained a five-point advantage, 20-15, on Middlebrooks’ tipin and a 10-point lead, 30-20, when White hit a jumper with 3:30 left in the first half.

In the second half, USD had a chance to move to within six points on two occasions, but forward James Knight missed the front ends of one-and-ones both times. Knight’s second miss came with Pepperdine leading, 50-42, with just under six minutes to play. The Waves scored two straight baskets after that and were never headed.

“When we did a job to stop them defensively, we didn’t do the job at the free throw line,” USD Coach Hank Egan said. “This may sound crazy, but I think we played better tonight than we have against some of the other teams we’ve played. We just dug a hole for ourselves and you can’t cheat on them because they have such balance.”

With Saturday’s win, Pepperdine has won 9 of 10 games from USD. The Toreros broke an eight-game losing streak against the Waves with a 56-55 win in the Sports Center last season.