Pepperdine Goes Easily, 63-51

This time, San Francisco didn’t need a miracle comeback.

The Dons left Pepperdine’s basketball team broken-hearted in San Francisco last month by rallying from a 20-point second-half deficit for a stunning victory, but defeating the Waves in Friday night’s rematch wasn’t nearly as difficult.

An aggressive defense and a big second half were all San Francisco needed to cruise to a 63-51 West Coast Conference victory before 2,375 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

It was the fewest points Pepperdine has scored in a game this season, eclipsing the previous low of 54 in its 56-54 loss at San Francisco on Jan. 13. The Waves, 9-16 overall and 2-11 in the WCC, shot a season-low 36.8% (21 of 57) in extending their losing streak to seven games.

All that remains for Pepperdine is tonight’s 5 p.m. homecoming game against San Diego and the knowledge it will draw the conference champion, either Gonzaga or Santa Clara, in the first round of the WCC tournament March 2 at Santa Clara. This is the first time since the 1977-78 season that the Waves will finish alone in last place.

Pepperdine will need a far better effort than it gave Friday to post any tournament upsets. The Waves missed all 10 of their three-point shot attempts, breaking a streak of 139 games in which they had made a three-point basket. In their last three games, they have made only three of 30 three-pointers.

San Francisco (15-10, 8-5) outscored the Waves, 36-23, in the second half after trailing by one at halftime. Guard Gerald Walker’s three-point play gave the Dons the lead for good, 37-34, with 15:09 left.

Gerald Brown led Pepperdine with a game-high 16 points, but he made only six of 21 shots.