Pepperdine Pulls Out a Win Over Northeastern

Northeastern gave Pepperdine a tough physical examination Sunday evening, the night before the Waves were scheduled to leave to play basketball against some tougher East Coast teams.

If the Waves hadn’t made 86% of their free throws (43 of 50), they might have failed the rigorous exam administered by the Huskies, another Eastern team that fouls by design.

Pepperdine came into the game with a 63.4% average from the foul line. But the Waves were hot when they had to be Sunday and got the way, 96-91, at Firestone Fieldhouse.

A total of 62 personal fouls were called in the game, 35 on Northeastern (3-4), and 4 Northeastern players and 3 Pepperdine players fouled out of the game.

If it hadn’t been for all that mayhem, however, Pepperdine forwards Dexter Howard and Tom Lewis wouldn’t have done all that scoring.

Howard scored a career-high 34 points, including 11 of 12 from the foul line. Lewis finished with 27 and made 19 of 22 free throws, including an 8-for-8 effort from the line down the stretch after the Waves had fallen behind, 78-76.

The Waves needed that offense from Howard and Lewis, but they also got some scoring when they needed it from an unexpected quarter: point guard Marty Wilson, who seldom takes a shot.

Pepperdine (6-3) entered the second half with a slim 51-46 lead. Except for 2 free throws by Lewis, he and Howard failed to score in the first 5 1/2 minutes after the intermission.

That’s when Wilson, who had surgery on his right knee midway through last season, took charge. He made 4 straight layups, 2 on tough drives through traffic, and his fourth gave the Waves a 61-50 lead.

But the Waves hit a cold spell, and Northeastern cut the lead to 1 point 3 times. A 3-point shot by Huskie guard Derrick Lewis, who finished with a team-high 19 points, tied it at 72 at 7:30.

Two free throws by Dexter Jenkins gave the Huskies a 76-74 lead--the first time they had gone ahead since early in the first half.

A dunk by Tarone Thornton kept Northeastern ahead, 78-76. But Tom Lewis sank 2 free throws, Howard got a basket on a goaltending call, and Pepperdine regained the lead for good, 80-78.

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said that he would “never have envisioned us getting into that much foul trouble, especially at home. But they play really physically, and pretty soon you get caught up in it--pushing, clawing and scratching.”

Wilson, who got caught up in it and fouled out of the game, gave Asbury a scare when he collapsed to the floor in the second half and grabbed at his injured knee.

But he got back up and walked it off and said later that he got a cramp after someone bumped into the back of his knee.

“There was a lot of slapping, grabbing and illegal picks,” Wilson said, “but it was going both ways.” Besides, he said, the rough stuff was good preparation for the team’s games at Marshall on Wednesday and Connecticut on Friday.

Asbury will probably need good foul shooting from everyone and more clutch play from Wilson on the trip.

“Marty really came out and pulled (the team) together in the second half,” Asbury said. “He’s a great leader.”