Pepperdine Finds Consolation in Victory : College basketball: Waves beat Southwest Texas State, 59-37, in third-place game of Alabama Birmingham tournament.

Doug Christie scored 18 points to lead Pepperdine to a 59-37 victory over Southwest Texas State Saturday night in the consolation game of the Alabama Birmingham Invitational.

Pepperdine (6-3), which ended a two-game losing streak, held Southwest Texas State (2-6) scoreless for the final 7:23 of the first half to take a 26-16 lead.

Pepperdine outscored the Bobcats, 33-21, in the second half and had a 23-point lead with 1:57 left when Steve Clover made a three-point shot from the top of the key.

Pepperdine, coming off a 79-73 loss to Georgia Southern Friday night, made 38.8% of its shots from the field, 42.9% from three-point range to hand Southwest Texas State its fifth loss in a row.

“On the whole, we did not shoot the ball too well,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. “But our defense was consistent for the entire 40 minutes.”

Pepperdine outrebounded Southwest Texas State, 34-22.

The Bobcats, who lost to Alabama Birmingham, 66-49, Friday night, committed 22 turnovers against the Waves.

There were four lead changes and four ties in the first half, the last coming at 16-16 on a three-point shot by Pepperdine’s Steve Guild at 7:03.

Christie also had three rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and two steals for Pepperdine.

Rick Welch had 11 points and Guild added nine for the Waves.

Southwest Texas (2-6) was led by Troy Washington with 12 points.

George Conner added 10 points for the Bobcats.

Alabama Birmingham 87, Georgia Southern 69--Stanley Jackson scored 28 points, including 21 in the second half, as the Blazers won the tournament championship with its 10th consecutive victory.

Alabama Birmingham (10-1) never trailed. Its biggest lead was 20 points, 82-62, coming on a three-point play by Jackson with 3:18 left.

Jackson, who made 10 of 15 shots and all five of his free throws, was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He also had five rebounds, four assists and five steals.