Waves Fall Again on the Road

Pepperdine’s road woes continued Thursday, with help from Portland’s Caanan Chatman.

He scored a career-high 30 points--17 in the second half--and Portland handed the Waves their 10th loss in 11 games on the road, 79-64.

Pepperdine is 7-12 overall, 3-4 in the West Coast Conference, but woeful away from Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

In contrast, the Pilots won their ninth in a row at Chiles Center and are assured of their first winning season since 1986-87.

Most of Pepperdine’s problems are its own doing. The Waves committed 29 turnovers Thursday, a season high. “You cannot expect to win on the road when you commit 29 turnovers,” Coach Tony Fuller said. “For some reason, we are not the same team on the road.”

Pepperdine kept it close early, trailing only 26-24 at halftime. The Pilots were ahead, 49-45, in the second half and then used a 21-7 run to break the game open.

Curt Ranta added 15 points and Ray Ross 10 for Portland.

Gerald Brown led Pepperdine with 19 points.