Pepperdine Beats Washington State : Waves Run Off 15 Straight Points, Pull Away to 84-76 Win

Sophomore center Levy Middlebrooks scored 21 points and added eight rebounds to lead Pepperdine to an 84-76 win over Washington State before 2,887 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Pepperdine, which raised its record to 1-1 in its home opener, also extended its home-court winning streak to 14 games over two seasons. Washington State fell to 1-1.

The 6-7 Middlebrooks did most of his damage inside, working against Todd Anderson, the Cougars’ 7-1 sophomore. Joe Wallace led the Cougars with 18 points but scored only four points in the second half when Pepperdine put the game away. Otis Jennings added 18 points for the Cougars.

Pepperdine’s Dwayne Polee added 15 points, and teammate Eric White had a game-high 12 rebounds and 11 points. Six Waves scored in double figures.

WSU looked like a Pacific 10 Conference contender in the first half, hitting 70% of its shots from the floor (16 of 23). But the Cougars trailed at halftime, 48-45, as the Waves shot 60% in the first half themselves.

In the second half, Washington State tied the game at 57-57 on a layup by Brian Quinett. But the Waves then scored 15 straight points, including six by Jon Korfas and four by Middlebrooks, to take a 72-57 lead with 6:07 left. The Cougars never recovered.

Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick credited guards Grant Gondrezick and Korfas with leading the team’s second-half rally. “We got our running game going, and they ignited it,” Harrick said.

Harrick also was pleased with the efforts of Middlebrooks, but he added with a grin, “Levy’s supposed to have those kinds of games. We expect that from him.

“It’s always nice to beat a Pac-10 team,” Harrick added, “particularly one that’s a contender.”

Pepperdine broke out to an 8-1 lead at the start of the game, spurred by three-point plays by Polee and Anthony Frederick.

With 12:09 left in the half, The Waves padded their lead to 24-12. Middlebrooks led the way with 16 points in the half.

But WSU sixth man Joe Wallace answered with 14 first-half points of his own. Wallace’s last basket gave the Cougars their only lead of the half at 43-42.

Pepperdine recaptured the lead at 46-43 on a four-point play. Polee, after hitting the front end of a one-and-one situation, missed the second. Eric White got the rebound, hit a basket, was fouled and made the free throw.