Pepperdine Snaps Losing Streak, 77-59

Throughout Pepperdine’s seven-game losing streak, Coach Lorenzo Romar tried to keep up his players’ spirits by preaching that a breakthrough was near.

It took one last sermon Friday night for the Waves to finally answer the call.

Romar’s timeout midway through the first half, after Pepperdine had fallen five points behind Division II Cal State Hayward, promptly halted his team’s lackadaisical play and spurred the Waves to a 77-59 nonconference victory at Firestone Fieldhouse.

“I was upset,” Romar said. “We can live with missed shots and missed free throws, but when there’s no concentration or intensity, that’s not what you want.”

Pepperdine (2-8) responded with a 19-4 run to take a 35-25 lead and was never threatened thereafter. Center Bryan Hill, who finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, scored the Waves’ first 13 points of the run on a variety of inside moves that befuddled a soft Hayward front line.

“Coach told us to go back out and play hard,” Hill said. “It feels great. This a game we needed to win.”

The 6-foot-8 Hill made eight of nine shots on his way to 18 first-half points, helping Pepperdine take a 39-29 lead at intermission.

“I felt their center [6-10 Scott Saber] couldn’t hold me inside,” Hill said. “He was kind of slow and I tried to take advantage of that.”

Hayward (5-4) concentrated on stopping Hill in the second half, when the Waves turned to the outside shooting of Marques Johnson. The guard scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including three three-point baskets.

After a shaky start, Pepperdine’s man-to-man pressure forced the Pioneers into a series of errors that helped the Waves erase a 21-16 deficit. Hayward finished with 21 turnovers and shot 44.2%, but was successful early beating Pepperdine down court.

“For whatever reason, we weren’t getting back in transition,” Romar said. “We wanted to make them work if they scored and get them into half-court situations.”

The Waves got more aggressive on defense, finishing with 12 steals--four by freshman Billy Jones--and were more efficient on offense. They committed a season-low eight turnovers, well below their average of 19.

“It’s nice to see the guys respond and be more careful with the basketball,” Romar said.

Pepperdine, winning for the first time since beating UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 25, led by at least seven points and by as many as 19 in the second half. Four Waves scored in double figures, with Marc McDowell contributing 12 points and nine rebounds and Tommie Prince adding 10 points.