Boise State Catches Waves at Low Tide

Playing without two of its best players, Pepperdine tried to ride the broad shoulders of forward Bryan Hill and guard Gerald Brown to victory Saturday night against Boise State.

Hill and Brown did their parts, combining for 42 points, but the outmanned Waves wilted in the final minutes as Boise State won on the road for the first time this season, 61-58, in a nonconference game before 2,873 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Pepperdine (7-5) had only seven scholarship players available because guard Marques Johnson, the team’s second-leading scorer, was in Alabama to attend his grandmother’s funeral, and forward Wil Weir, a key reserve, was sidelined by chronic asthma.

Coach Tony Fuller was in no mood for alibis after the Waves were outscored, 10-5, in the final 1 minute 46 seconds.

Pepperdine opens West Coast Conference play Thursday night at San Diego.

“We don’t make any excuses,” Fuller said. “[Boise State] played well. There were a couple of rebounds that we should have gotten down the stretch that we didn’t get. That was the key.”

Boise State (4-8) made six free throws in the final 19 seconds, two by Phil Rodman with three seconds left. Pepperdine’s Tezale Archie got off a running three-pointer at the buzzer that bounced off the rim.

Junior guard Joe Wyatt, from Kennedy High, scored six of the Broncos’ last 10 points, finishing with 15. His two free throws with 13 seconds left gave Boise State a 59-56 lead.

“We hit some clutch free throws and shots down the stretch--that’s something we haven’t done,” said Wyatt, whose team was 0-5 in road games. “Our coach [Rod Jensen] told us to just stick with our game and calm down a bit.”

Boise State led most of the game until going scoreless for six minutes in the second half.

Pepperdine went on an 11-0 run and led, 43-39, with 12:54 to play.

Hill, who scored 22 points, had six during that stretch and Brown, who finished with 20 points, ignited the run with a three-point basket.

Pepperdine extended its lead to 51-45 on Hill’s basket with 7:16 left, but the Waves scored only three more field goals and led for the last time when Brown’s basket made it 53-51 with 2:58 left.

Boise State took the lead for good, 55-53, when Wyatt scored with 53 seconds left. Gavin Van Der Putten hit one free throw for Pepperdine but Boise State’s Gerry Washington sank two for a 57-54 lead with 19 seconds left.