Waves Run Conference Road Streak to 25 : College basketball: Lopez returns and scores 14 points as Pepperdine beats Loyola Marymount, 78-66.

Pepperdine guard Damin Lopez, returning to the lineup after sitting out for a month because of a broken left hand, opened the scoring Wednesday night against Loyola Marymount with a three-point basket in the first minute.

The rest of Lopez’s game wasn’t as impressive--he made only two of nine three-point attempts after that--but his presence was a steadying influence as the Waves pulled away for a 78-66 West Coast Conference victory before 2,847 at Gersten Pavilion.

“It’s definitely great to be back out there with the guys, whether I was playing or just shooting layups,” said Lopez, who missed eight games after being injured in practice Jan. 19. “I still have a way to go, but the surgery was pretty successful.”

Lopez finished with 14 points on four-for-11 shooting and had four assists. The 5-foot-8 junior played with his left hand heavily wrapped to protect five screws in place to promote healing.

“It surprised me that he played, but it didn’t surprise me that he played well,” Loyola Coach John Olive said. “I knew that he had been practicing. He gave them a lift.”

Lopez didn’t get as glowing a review from his own coach, Tom Asbury.

“He didn’t play great, but we needed to get him out there,” Asbury said. “He didn’t shoot well, but that’s to be expected.”

Forward Dana Jones led Pepperdine with game highs in points (23) and rebounds (12). The Waves improved to 18-5 overall and 9-2 in the WCC with their 25th consecutive road victory in conference play.

Loyola (7-16, 2-9) suffered its sixth consecutive defeat and ninth in the last 10 games. Lion point guard Bill Mazurie did not play because of a pulled groin and forward Zan Mason, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, played only 18 minutes because of a bruised right shoulder suffered in practice Monday.

Despite the injuries, Loyola pulled to 64-59 with 3:17 to play on two free throws by Mason after trailing by 11 in the second half.

The Lions then forced a Pepperdine turnover, but the Waves got the ball back on a steal by point guard Bryan Parker, leading to a 7-0 run and a 71-59 lead with 1:17 to play after a layup by center Derek Noether, who had 14 points and eight rebounds.

Pepperdine outrebounded Loyola, 39-27.

Center Brian McCloskey led Loyola with 17 points.

Pepperdine came back from an eight-point deficit to lead at halftime, 34-29. The Waves outscored Loyola, 11-2, in the final 4:09 of the first half, capped by a three-point basket by Lopez with seven seconds to play.

Before that, Loyola had used an 11-2 run to build a 22-14 advantage. But Pepperdine, which scored only four field goals in the first 10 minutes, closed the half strongly. Freshman forward LeRoi O’Brien gave the Waves a lift off the bench by scoring four points.