Lear Has 27 to Lead Pepperdine

For the eighth time in 11 years, Pepperdine swept its two conference games in the Pacific Northwest, beating Portland, 94-73, Saturday night.

On Thursday, the Waves edged Gonzaga in Spokane, 68-66.

The Waves are now 10-5 overall and 3-0 in the West Coast Conference. Portland is 8-7 and 1-1.

Senior forward Geoff Lear scored a season-high 27 points and had 11 rebounds against Portland. Sophomore guard Damon Lopez, the star of the victory over Gonzaga, added 14 points.

Doug Christie and Byron Jenson each scored 13, Dana Jones had 12 and Steve Guild 10 for the Waves.

Portland was led by Peter McKelvey with 25 points. McKelvey made five of 10 three-point shots.

Pepperdine shot 56.7% (34 of 60) and was seven of 14 from three-point range. The Waves had a season-best 82.5% free-throw percentage, making 19 of 23.

Portland shot only 38.5% (25 of 65) from the field.

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said: “Tonight we played a complete ballgame as evidenced by our high shooting percentage and balanced scoring. We rebounded extremely well (the Waves had a 43-29 advantage) and showed good patience on offense.

“This was a successful road trip for us, and I can see our team’s confidence improving with each game.”