Pepperdine Is Handed a 73-61 Defeat by AIA

Athletes in Action spoiled Pepperdine’s basketball opener Tuesday night, defeating the Waves, 73-61, in an exhibition before 1,571 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The Waves, defending West Coast Athletic Conference champions, played AIA almost evenly in the first period and trailed at halftime, 33-31.

But AIA’s Tracy Jackson, the former Notre Dame star, scored 10 first-half points on 5 of 8 shots from the floor and added 10 more in the second period. AIA pulled steadily away and led by as many as 16 points in the second half.

Calvin Duncan, the ex-Virginia Commonwealth star, added 19 points on 9 of 12 shooting, and Michael Wiley, who used to play for Cal State Long Beach, scored 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting.

AIA made 60.8% of its field goals (31 of 51), 76% (16 of 21) in the second half. Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick, asked if he saw anything good about his team’s performance, said no at first. Then he added that junior forward Eric White had a good first half. White scored 12 points in the first half but finished with just 14 points. Dwayne Polee added 13 points for the Waves.