Pepperdine Finally Shakes Portland

After his team’s one-point victory over Gonzaga on Friday, Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury was concerned about a letdown Saturday night in a West Coast Conference game against Portland.

Asbury’s fears proved to be justified. The Waves had to struggle before pulling away for an 80-69 victory over Portland before 2,438 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The victory extended Pepperdine’s record conference winning streak to 35 games. It is the longest active conference winning streak of any team in NCAA Division I.

The Waves (11-3, 2-0) fell behind by as many as seven points during the first half and trailed by 30-28 at halftime.

“I told the guys that everyone who comes in here is going to work real hard to beat us because of the streak, and they didn’t believe us until halftime,” Asbury said.

Portland (6-8, 0-2) controlled the tempo during the half with a slow-paced offense.

“They run that false motion and take a lot of time off the clock and that really worked,” Asbury said.

It worked until Pepperdine used its press early in the second half.

After forward Brenton Moore made two free throws to give the Pilots a 40-35 lead with 13:56 remaining, the Waves ran off 18 consecutive points over the next 5:21.

“We played a great second half except for those few minutes there where they hit a lot of shots,” Portland Coach Larry Steele said. “Our whole game plan was not to give them open looks, and we pretty much did that except for that stretch.”

Pepperdine guard Damin Lopez made five three-point baskets and totaled 23 points--17 during the second half.

Lopez acknowledged that Asbury berated him at halftime, adding: “The guys just freed me up in the second half and that’s my job, to hit those open jumpers.”