Pepperdine Tries to Keep Pace With St. Mary’s

Pepperdine, which has fallen a half-game behind St. Mary’s in the West Coast Athletic Conference basketball race, will seek to move back into a tie for first place when it plays host to Gonzaga at 7:30 tonight at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The Waves also play host to Portland (2-21 overall, 2-8 in the conference) Saturday.

Pepperdine (16-9, 8-2) was idle Wednesday night when the Gaels (21-3) routed the University of San Diego at Moraga, 70-45, running their conference record to 9-2.

Leading scorers for Gonzaga (13-10, 4-6) are senior guard Doug Spradley, averaging 21 points a game, and junior forward Jim McPhee at 19.5.