Pepperdine Is Back on Track, Stops Gonzaga

Pepperdine, which had gotten off to its worst start in Jim Harrick’s eight seasons as coach, took a step Friday night to reverse that trend.

The Waves stopped Gonzaga, the West Coast Athletic Conference’s hottest team, 87-78, before 1,416 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Pepperdine snapped its three-game losing streak, improving to 1-2 in conference play and 5-10 overall. The Waves also won their eighth straight from Gonzaga dating to 1983 and broke a seven-game win streak by the Bulldogs, who dropped to 2-1 and 10-5.

The Waves didn’t exactly look like the Waves of old, but they did look a lot better than last week, when they lost their first two conference games to USF and Santa Clara.

Pepperdine’s scoring leaders, Eric White and Leavy Middlebrooks, each scored 21 points. Middlebrooks grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, 7 in the first half.

Said Harrick: “(White) Did not shoot as well as I would like. If he had, he would have gotten 30 because every one was an open shot.”

White made just 5 of 15 shots.

Pepperdine’s guards, who shot just 26.8% in the USF and Santa Clara games, were better against the Bulldogs, making 6 of 14 shots. Forward Dexter Howard, who was 0 for 10 last week, was 4 for 5 Friday night and finished with 13 points.