Waves Roll Into NCAA, but Barely : WCC tournament: They hold on to beat Gonzaga, 73-70, in the final to earn second bid in a row.

Sunday, after Gonzaga earned the right to play for the West Coast Conference tournament title, Bulldog Coach Dan Fitzgerald was asked which team he would prefer to meet in the final.

“I’ll be honest, I hope it’s Pepperdine,” he said. “I want to play the best if we’re going to become the best in this league.”

Fitzgerald and Gonzaga got their chance Monday night, but top-seeded Pepperdine pulled away midway through the second half, then hung on for a 73-70 victory at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center.

In improving to 24-6, the Waves won their 12th consecutive game, their 33rd in a row in the conference and secured their second consecutive bid to the NCAA tournament.

It was also their second consecutive WCC tournament title.

Senior guard Doug Christie, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, including two free throws with seven seconds left to give the Waves a 73-70 lead.

Gonzaga missed a chance to tie when Jarrod Davis’ three-point shot from the top of the key bounced away as time expired. Davis made five of 10 three-point shots and led the Bulldogs (20-10) with 25 points.

“We went to a zone with seven seconds left after playing ‘man’ (defense) most of the second half,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. “I don’t know if we confused them, but I don’t think (Davis) got a very good look at it.

“It was a very typical game for us. In the last three weeks, we’ve had to scratch and claw and figure out a way to get it done in the end.”

Gonzaga had pulled within 71-70 with nine seconds left on three free throws by reserve Matt Stanford, who was fouled on a missed three-point shot by Christie.

Pepperdine used a 12-0 spurt--highlighted by two three-point shots by reserve Steve Guild--to erase a 55-53 deficit and take a 65-55 lead with 5:11 left. Christie sank two free throws and a short jump shot during the surge.

Davis had made four three-point shots in the first nine minutes of the second half to help the Bulldogs take a 53-50 lead.

“Gonzaga is a similar team to us in that they’re not going to beat themselves,” said Asbury, whose team defeated the Bulldogs by two and 12 points during the regular season. “They played us tough all three times.”

Wave forwards Geoff Lear and Dana Jones scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, and were named to the all-tournament team. Guild scored 10.

“Guild has done it all year,” Asbury said. “He’s a finisher. He’s always there at the end.”

Guild sank a free throw with 3:09 left to give Pepperdine a 66-58 lead. When he missed the second, Christie rebounded it and passed to Lear for a layup and a 68-58 Pepperdine lead with 2:31 left.