Pepperdine Proves Too Much for Irvine

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury has been complaining that his team has played well in spurts this season, but not for an entire game.

The Waves fell into that pattern Tuesday night.

Pepperdine played well just long enough to defeat UC Irvine, 81-71, before 1,257 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The game was far from pretty. Both teams kept committing turnovers, and both went for long periods without scoring.

And the last three minutes of the game turned into a foul-a-thon, with the Anteaters committing most of the fouls in a desperate effort to catch up.

The Waves sank 13 of 17 free throws down the stretch to pull out the victory.

Although the Waves looked good at times, Asbury said Irvine’s tough zone defense had something to do with preventing Pepperdine from running away with the game.

Asbury said that Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan and his players remembered last year’s 102-76 loss to Pepperdine and were determined that this game wouldn’t turn into another rout.

“They played a different style and tempo than last year, and they did it very well,” he said. “We weren’t as crisp or as sharp as we wanted to be and may have had an emotional letdown after (Saturday’s loss to) Kansas. But you’ve got to give Irvine a lot of credit.”

Pepperdine forward Geoff Lear scored a game-high 25 points, mostly from inside, and led all rebounders with 10. Teammate Shann Ferch added 17 points.

Jeff Herdman, Ricky Butler and Jeff Von Lutzow each scored 14 points for the Anteaters, and Herdman added nine rebounds.

Pepperdine (3-3) took a 24-14 lead with 6:25 left in the half and was ahead at halftime, 35-28.

The game began inauspiciously for Irvine (2-6).

The Anteaters, who were averaging 17.6 turnovers entering the game, seemed to be following the same old pattern of errors.

But when the Waves seemed to be pulling steadily away after building a 10-point lead, Irvine got its offense going. Rob Doktorcyzk made a three-point shot, and Von Lutzow drove for two layups, sandwiched around a Herdman three-pointer.

Suddenly, the Anteaters had gotten back in the game, pulling within 27-24.

Lear, operating inside, led the Waves with nine points and five rebounds in the first half. He made four of six shots from the field.