Pepperdine Pulls Away in Second Half, 75-53

Friday night’s game between Pepperdine and Santa Clara was supposed to be a fight to the finish for first place in the West Coast Conference.

But the fight ended early in the second half.

After a close first half, Pepperdine coasted to a 75-53 victory before 2,854 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The Waves won their 24th consecutive conference game and improved to 15-6 overall and 8-0 in conference play. Santa Clara (9-11, 5-2) dropped into a tie for second place with Gonzaga.

Doug Christie scored 16 of his 24 points as Pepperdine took a 24-10 lead, but Santa Clara went on a 12-0 run to pull to within 24-22 with 4:30 to play in the half.

A rebound basket by Geoff Lear, who also scored 24 points, gave the Waves a 30-26 halftime lead.

The Waves then outscored the Broncos by 18-6 and and led by as many as 27 points late in the game.

“We started hitting our outside shots (during the second half),” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said.

“Damin Lopez got untracked. Steve Guild shot poorly in the first half and shot well in the second half.”

Neither Lopez nor Guild scored during the first half. But Guild finished with 10 points, including two-for-four shooting from three-point range, and Lopez made two of three three-point shots during the second half, finishing with nine points, five assists and two steals.

Pepperdine’s Dana Jones, a starter at forward, suffered a sprained left ankle during practice Wednesday and did not play Friday night.

Asbury said he didn’t know if Jones would be able to play tonight against the University of San Diego at Firestone, but added that he doubted Jones would play.