WCC BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Pepperdine Wins; San Diego Surprises Gonzaga

Pepperdine needed a strong finish. San Francisco could have used a better start.

What resulted was familiar to both teams as Pepperdine defeated the Dons, 82-79, in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament Sunday night at Santa Clara’s Toso Pavilion.

It marked the fourth consecutive year that the Waves reached the final at San Francisco’s expense. Second-seeded Pepperdine (18-10) will seek its third NCAA tournament berth in four seasons when it meets fourth-seeded San Diego (18-10) in the title game at 9 tonight. The Toreros upset Gonzaga, 83-75, in the other semifinal.

San Francisco lost its leading scorer, Gerald Walker, five minutes into the game. The sophomore guard suffered a broken right fibula when he landed awkwardly after being fouled from behind by Pepperdine guard Bryan Parker on a breakaway dunk attempt.

“I’m not bitter,” said Don Coach Jim Brovelli, whose team finished 17-11. “I’m really disappointed. We would have liked to be at full strength.

“I won’t place the blame on anyone. It was a hard foul. It was an intentional foul, no doubt about it. Gerald got injured, and that’s unfortunate.”

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury defended Parker, who appeared to be going for the ball when he hit Walker.

“I feel bad for Gerald, but anybody who knows Bryan Parker knows he didn’t do that on purpose,” Asbury said.

“Three years ago we lost Doug Christie to torn knee ligaments in this same tournament in this same gym. These things just happen. (Parker’s foul) wasn’t a cheap shot.”

Without Walker, San Francisco stayed even with Pepperdine until the Waves made a move with five minutes left. A basket by forward Dana Jones gave the Waves the lead for good, 70-68, with 4:55 left.

Pepperdine increased its advantage to 76-70 on a three-pointer by guard Damin Lopez with two minutes left and led by at least four until San Francisco’s Wilson Stephens made a free throw with three seconds remaining to account for the final score.

Jones led the Waves with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Lopez had 20 points with four three-pointers. Reserve forward Clark James added 15 points.

Guard Orlando Smart paced the Dons with 21 points and 10 assists.

San Diego 83, Gonzaga 75--The Toreros took an 18-point halftime lead and held off the top-seeded Bulldogs to reach their first tournament final.

Conference champion Gonzaga (21-7) made several runs in the second half, getting as close as five points with 7:17 to play, but San Diego answered every challenge before pulling away by making 13 of 18 free throws in the last 3:11.

“We knew they were going to come back,” San Diego Coach Hank Egan said. “What was important was that we kept our poise. For the most part, we did that.”

Guard Doug Harris led San Diego (18-10) with 25 points.

Forward Matt Stanford led Gonzaga with 25 points. Gonzaga shot 39%, San Diego 51%.