Waves Have a Night to Remember : College basketball: Seniors go out in style in leading Pepperdine to 102-89 victory over San Diego.

Pepperdine seniors Dexter Howard, Shann Ferch, Tom Lewis and Craig Davis made their last appearance before a home crowd Saturday night a memorable one.

Howard scored a game-high 29 points, Ferch had 20, Davis 17 and Lewis 16 as the Waves defeated the University of San Diego, 102-89, before 3,027 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Pepperdine took sole possession of second place in the West Coast Conference, finishing the regular season at 16-11, 10-4 in conference play.

San Diego, which fell to 14-12 and 9-5, dropped to third place in the WCC.

Lewis scored inside and outside, and Ferch hit consistently from the outside, as the Waves made 10 of 13 three-point shots (76.9%) in the first half.

Lewis made six of nine field goal attempts in the game and was four of four from three-point range. Ferch scored 14 points in the first half, including four three-point shots.

Howard scored 18 points, and Davis made a couple of key baskets in the second half, which helped to hold off the charging Toreros.

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said that the Waves have to go into next weekend’s conference tournament at Loyola and “get after them, whoever (we play). I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be San Diego” eventually. The Waves face St. Mary’s in the first round.

The Waves took control early, after Lewis made a three-point shot during an 11-2 run that gave them a 24-16 lead.

Ferch scored 14 points, and Lewis added 13, and Pepperdine held a 57-43 lead at halftime.

With 45 seconds left in the half, San Diego’s Anthony Thomas got into a shoving match with Geoff Lear.

A foul was called on Thomas, who protested angrily and shouted at a referee. He was given a flagrant technical foul and ejected from the game.

San Diego scored the first six points of the second half and kept the pressure on the rest of the game, twice closing to within three points.

But Geoff Lear made a layup and two free throws, and Howard dunked after picking up a loose ball and then made a three-point play. That 9-0 run seemed to take the starch out of the Toreros.