Pepperdine Pulls Off a Stunner, Defeating Santa Clara, 63-60

With Gerald Brown on the floor holding his right knee and Bryan Hill lying next to him practically unconscious, it seemed Pepperdine’s season from hell would come to a fitting end in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament.

Both players had to leave the game Saturday night after a multi-player collision under Santa Clara’s basket and the Waves trailing by a point with 4 minutes 20 seconds remaining in the first half.

Their coach, Tony Fuller, had quit unexpectedly Jan. 20. Their roster had already been trimmed to eight by injuries and illness, and now they were down to six players. What more could go wrong?

Plenty, it turns out. Brown, the conference’s leading scorer, may have suffered ligament damage.

But with that yet undetermined, nothing was was going to stop Pepperdine from enjoying its finest hour in a long time.

Especially Hill, who returned in the second half to lead his emotionally charged team to a stunning 63-60 upset of the top-seeded Broncos before a full house of 5,000 at Toso Pavilion.

The victory ended an eight-game losing streak and put the eighth-seeded Waves in tonight’s semifinal against second-seeded Gonzaga at 5 p.m.

Santa Clara got 25 points from guard Steve Nash, who made seven of 10 three-point shots, and very little from everyone else.

The Broncos, 19-8 overall, shot only 36% from the field. It was the third consecutive season they have been host for the tournament, and in all three they have been eliminated in the first round.

Despite the loss, Nash was confident Santa Clara would be awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s tough for me to say that now, feeling so discouraged and low,” the senior guard said. “But I still feel we’re in.”

Pepperdine (10-17) took a 29-25 lead into halftime, then rode the inspired play of Hill. The 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, who said he had a “bad headache” after taking a knee to the temple in the first-half collision, scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

Wave guard Marques Johnson, who played 36 minutes, also scored 16, center Gavin Van Der Putten added 12 and guard Khary Hervey 11.

The Broncos led only once in the second half, 56-53, on a three-point basket by Nash with 4:30 left. But Hill was fouled and, after making his first free throw, missed the second, got the rebound and scored to complete a three-point play.

He scored five points during an 8-0 run that gave the Waves a 61-56 lead with 1:24 remaining.

Santa Clara had a chance to send the game into overtime. Trailing, 63-60, with 12 seconds to play, the ball was inbounded to Nash, who dribbled downcourt and passed the ball to Lloyd Pierce along the baseline.

Pierce’s three-point attempt at the buzzer missed, and the Waves had reason to celebrate.

OTHER GAMES

Gonzaga 64, St. Mary’s 54--In the first of the two early games before 3,118, Paul Rogers’ only three-point basket of the season--he had missed his previous five attempts--gave the Bulldogs a 60-54 lead with 37 seconds left. Guard Lorenzo Rollins led the Bulldogs (20-7) with 18 points. St. Mary’s is 12-15, 5-9.

Portland 78, San Francisco 72--The Pilots opened a 14-point first-half lead, saw it cut to three points with 40 seconds to play, but managed to hold on. Forward John Duggan scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to lead the Dons’ ill-fated rally. The Pilots (17-10) had four players scoring in double figures, led by forward Rick Brainard’s 20 points. The Dons fell to 15-11 and 8-6.