Pepperdine Makes It to NCAA Tournament by Beating San Diego

Despite Pepperdine’s domination of San Diego in recent seasons, the last thing Coach Tom Asbury expected Monday night was an easy game.

He was right.

San Diego gave Pepperdine all it could handle as the Waves rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to gain a 56-53 victory and advance to the NCAA tournament for the third time in four seasons by winning the West Coast Conference tournament at Santa Clara.

The Waves entered the WCC tournament final having won seven in a row and 12 of the last 13 meetings against the Toreros, including victories of 10 and 19 points this season.

“But that does not amount to anything,” Asbury said Sunday.

Still, Pepperdine had enough in the end.

Dana Jones’ close-range basket with 1:42 to play gave the Waves the lead for good, 54-53, and Damin Lopez added two free throws with 20 seconds left. San Diego guard David Fizdale missed badly on a three-point shot with one second left.

Jones scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half and was selected the tournament’s most valuable player. The Waves (19-10), gaining their seventh consecutive victory, forced several steals in the second half to help turn the game around.

Pepperdine took its first lead, 42-41, on a free throw by Jones with 8:17 to play, but San Diego (18-11) answered with a three-point play by center Chris Grant, and a 7-0 run to lead, 48-42, with a little less than seven minutes left.

The Waves came back to tie the score, 52-52, with a 6-0 run capped by Lopez’s layup with 3:25 left.

Pepperdine’s lack of depth was a concern at the outset. The Waves entered the tournament in Santa Clara with eight injury-free players and Asbury feared it would dwindle to seven because of a slight concussion suffered by starting forward LeRoi O’Brien in Sunday’s semifinal victory over San Francisco.

O’Brien started and made the Waves’ first basket, but it was by no means an encouraging beginning.

San Diego led by controlling the middle and strong outside shooting. The Toreros outrebounded Pepperdine, 23-18, and made four three-pointers in the first half, two by guard Neal Meyer, who had three points in the first two tournament games.

Pepperdine, meanwhile, struggled. The Waves shot 29% in the first half, the Toreros 34.5%.

Brooks Barnhard, a 6-foot-9 all-conference forward, had nine points and nine rebounds for San Diego. Jones paced Pepperdine with six points.

WCC Notes

San Francisco guard Gerald Walker underwent surgery Monday to repair ligament damage and insert a screw in his right ankle. Walker, who also suffered a broken right leg, was injured during Sunday’s game against Pepperdine.