WEST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT : Pepperdine Rests While Routing Loyola

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury couldn’t have crafted a better script for his team for a first-round game in the West Coast Conference tournament.

The top-seeded Waves opened their bid for a third consecutive tournament title by leading from the start in an 80-66 victory Saturday over Loyola Marymount at the University of San Francisco’s Memorial Gym.

The victory moved the Waves (21-6) into the tournament semifinals today against San Francisco, which beat San Diego, 96-93, in overtime.

Loyola finished at 7-20, its worst record since it went 3-24 in 1981-82.

Pepperdine led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

“We never really knocked them out,” Asbury said. “We didn’t beat them like we did at home, when we knocked them out with about 15 minutes left in the second half. But the critical thing was the minutes.”

With the Waves leading comfortably, Asbury was able to rest his starters down the stretch.

“I think that’s going to help us as we go on in the tournament,” point guard Bryan Parker said. “Back-to-back games is difficult, and having a chance to sit down a little more will really help.”

Pepperdine also benefited from the return of starting guard Damin Lopez, who scored 10 points and added eight assists. Lopez missed two games last week because of recurring problems with his hand, which had been broken earlier in the season.

More than with Lopez’s statistics, Asbury was happy that he was able to play nearly the entire game.

“It was nice having Damin back because he’s the only one on the team who really has the stamina to play 40 minutes,” Asbury said. “We missed him a lot.”

The coach also was pleased with his team’s scoring balance. The Waves had seven players score between 10 and 12 points.

Parker had 12 points on four three-point baskets. Forwards Dana Jones and LeRoi O’Brien, center Derek Noether and guard Steve Guild scored 11 points each and forward Byron Jenson added 10.

The Waves were outrebounded, 39-34, and committed 20 turnovers. But they shot 56.6%.

Loyola, which lost its 10th game in a row and suffered its eighth consecutive loss to Pepperdine, was its own worst enemy in the first half.

The Lions shot only 37.3% in an 80-54 regular-season loss to Pepperdine two weeks ago, and they were even worse in the first half Saturday.

Loyola missed its first nine shots, made only two of its first 20 and wound up making only four of 29 (13.8%) in the half. The Lions did not make their first basket until 12:43 remained in the half and did not score in the final 7:26 of the period.

That made it easy for Pepperdine, shooting 53.8%, to take a 36-16 halftime lead.

The Lions were led by forward Brian McCloskey’s 23 points.

Santa Clara 79, St. Mary’s 68--Senior guard Mark Schmitz scored 23 points, including five three-point baskets, to lead the Broncos (16-11) to an easy victory. Santa Clara, which held a 39-26 advantage at halftime, never trailed.

Gonzaga 77, Portland 57--Guard Geoff Goss scored a career-high 24 points and center Jeff Brown added 20 as the second-seeded Bulldogs (19-8) had little difficulty in a first-round tournament game. Goss also had eight rebounds and six assists.

San Francisco 96, San Diego 93--Guard Gerald Walker sank a free throw with five seconds remaining in overtime as the host Dons (19-11) held on. The Dons were led by guard Orlando Smart with 25 points.