Pepperdine Keeps a Hold on First, 87-64

Pepperdine kept a tight grip on first place in the West Coast Athletic Conference, rolling to an 87-64 win over Gonzaga before 2,457 fans Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Gonzaga, which surprised Loyola Marymount Friday night, couldn’t pull an upset this time. The Bulldogs shot only 33%, making 21 of 63 shots, as Pepperdine rolled to its 27th straight home-court win and improved to 10-1 in the WCAC, 2-4 overall. Gonzaga dropped to 5-6 and 12-13.

Pepperdine’s lean, quick players dominated bulky, slow Gonzaga, especially on the front line.

Forwards Anthony Frederick and Eric White, and center Levy Middlebrooks scored a combined 55 points for Pepperdine and held their counterparts in the Gonzaga lineup to 35.

Frederick scored a game-high 22 points--15 in the second half--grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.

White scored 20 points and had 7 rebounds, and Middlebrooks added 13 points, a game-high 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Pepperdine’s Dwayne Polee scored 19 points, and his backcourt mate, Jon Korfas, handed out 12 assists.

Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said that his “front line dominated them offensively and defensively” and that the Waves’ defense was “excellent.”

“Any time you hold them to about 30 points in both halves, you’ve done a good job,” Harrick said. “I think the blocked shots made them wonder where in the world they were.”

Frederick didn’t like his first-half performance but improved in the second. “I wasn’t playing as well as I can, so I just decided to go out and play harder,” he said.

“They have a lot of strong post men. I couldn’t outpower them, so I tried to outquick them.” So did the rest of the Waves, who shot 55% (33 of 60).

Gonzaga freshman forward Jim McPhee kept his team in the game in the first half with his outside shooting. McPhee finished with a team-high 17 points but had only 3 in the second half as Pepperdine, which had led at intermission, 36-28, put the Bulldogs away. Center Dale Haaland added 14 points for Gonzaga.

Gonzaga’s Mike Champion hit a short hook shot at the start of the second half to bring the Bulldogs within six points. But that was as close as Gonzaga could come.