Lopez’s Three-Point Barrage Helps Pepperdine Win Easily

Damin Lopez scored 20 points, including six three-point shots, as Pepperdine beat Stephen F. Austin, 77-53, Saturday night in the consolation game of the Dr Pepper Invitational.

Lopez set a tournament record with 10 three-pointers in two games. He broke the record of eight set by Princeton’s Sean Jackson two years ago.

Lopez also had six assists while celebrating his 23rd birthday.

The Waves (4-1) led, 64-53, in the second half, but went on a 13-0 run that put the Lumberjacks away. Kerol McGusty scored 11 to lead Stephen F. Austin (1-5).

“We put the game away with some good spurts in the second half, but we still need a more sustained effort,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. “We are 4-1 right now but clearly are not hitting on all cylinders.

“I think we have the makings of a decent team, but we need to find our fifth starter and become more consistent. This team needs to get better fast because we play at George Washington next Saturday.”

Derek Noether, benched because of a poor performance in Friday’s loss to Weber State, had 17 points and 16 rebounds as Pepperdine dominated the boards, 40-31.

The Waves led, 36-31, at halftime before using a 10-1 run to go up, 46-32.