WCAC Basketball Tournament : Pepperdine Puts Pressure on San Diego, 64-63

The University of San Diego missed some important shots down the stretch against Pepperdine Friday night. As a result, the Toreros might miss the NCAA tournament.

Pepperdine, which finished seventh in the West Coast Athletic Conference regular season, squeezed by the Toreros, 64-63.

With the victory, the Waves knocked San Diego, the regular-season champion, out of the conference’s first tournament in a semifinal game at the University of San Francisco’s Memorial Gymnasium.

Pepperdine (12-17 overall) will play in tonight’s championship game against Santa Clara, which defeated St. Mary’s, 55-50. The tournament champion will get the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

In a tight game that was tied seven times, San Diego’s players tensed up at the foul line in the last six minutes, missing 5 of 6 free throws, including the front ends of two one-and-one situations. With seven seconds left and San Diego (24-5 overall) trailing, 64-63, Danny Means still had a chance to win the game. But on a base-line drive, Means missed an off-balance, over-the-head scoop shot in traffic. And Pepperdine grabbed the rebound--and the game.

Scott Thompson, San Diego’s 7-footer and the conference’s most valuable player, also might have won it for his team.

But Thompson began his team’s string of poor foul shooting when he couldn’t connect on two free throws with 5:59 remaining and San Diego leading, 58-56. With 40 seconds left and the Toreros behind by the game’s final score, Thompson also failed to hit the first shot of a one-and-one.

Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said that Thompson’s last shanked free throw was important. But he added that “our defensive pressure was probably the key to the game.”

Harrick said that his team played better pressure defense on Friday night than they had had all year.

Thompson’s last miss may have been important, but so was the defensive job that 6-7 Levy Middlebrooks did on the 7-footer.

Middlebrooks “watched Scott Thompson and only gave him 13 shots all night,” Harrick said. Thompson made 8 of 13 shots from the field but hit only 3 of 7 free throws, finishing with 19 points to lead all scorers.

Middlebrooks scored 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting and hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Pepperdine’s Eric White also had 18 points. Teammate Craig Davis had 14, including 3 of 3 from three-point range.

San Diego Coach Hank Egan, who saw his team’s 14-game winning streak snapped, said he hopes “our record over the course of the season will have some weight” with the NCAA tournament selection committee, which will announce on Sunday the teams it has selected.

Harrick, asked whether he thought the Toreros should be given a bid to the NCAAs, answered:

“Without a doubt, unequivocally, no question at all.”

Santa Clara 55, St. Mary’s 50--Dan Weiss’ 10 points in the second half helped Santa Clara overcome a nine-point halftime deficit.

The Broncos dominated the boards, 34-23, and outhustled the Gaels in an exciting but sloppy second half that saw long stretches when neither team could score. Both teams are 17-13.

Weiss, who had only two points in the first half, capped the Broncos’ scoring with a dunk on a breakaway with 11 seconds left after St. Mary’s blew several chances to tie the game.

St. Mary’s, which led at halftime, 32-23, stayed close after losing the lead and last led, 50-49, with 2 1/2 minutes to go.

Jens Gordon led Santa Clara with 14 points; Ezra Hunter of St. Mary’s also had 14.