Given a Week, Pepperdine Gets Much Stronger

What a difference a week made for Pepperdine. To be exact, 31 points.

The Waves, looking nothing like the team that lost by 16 at Gonzaga last Saturday, ended a three-game losing streak with an 80-65 West Coast Conference victory over the same opponent before 1,619 Friday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.

“We went up there and they humiliated us, but we knew we were a better team than that,” said Pepperdine center Bryan Hill, who scored a career-best 27 points on 9-for-13 shooting.

Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar called it his team’s “best-played game in terms of execution.” The Waves (5-14, 3-4 in the WCC) were at their peak in the second half, shooting 72% (18 of 25) and outscoring Gonzaga, 46-31.

It was Pepperdine’s first victory over Gonzaga (11-8, 4-3) since 1993, snapping a nine-game skid and denying the Bulldogs a first-place tie with Santa Clara.

“We needed a win against a quality team,” Romar said. “A lot of guys chipped in tonight.”

Every Wave seemed to get into the act in the second half, especially during a 10-2 run that put them ahead, 53-44, and brought fans to their feet. In succession, Tezale Archie scored a layup on a pass from Hill, Archie found Hill for a dunk, and Hill passed to Tommie Prince for a dunk.

“We knew that Gonzaga would pressure us,” said Romar, explaining the string of easy baskets. “The key was the guy with the ball found the open man.”

Hill, a 6-foot-8 junior, scored 16 points in the second half, dominating Gonzaga’s taller front line with inside moves.

“For whatever reason, they chose to guard Bryan one-on-one,” Romar said. “He’s pretty good one-on-one.”

Said Hill: “It surprised me. A lot of teams double-team me. I felt I had the advantage in quickness inside. I could shoot over them.”

The Waves led by as many as 11 in the second half, and Gonzaga never got closer than six after that despite the play of freshman point guard Matt Santangelo, who scored 14 of his 21 points after intermission.

Pepperdine used a 12-4 run in the last 4:16 of the first half to erase an eight-point deficit and tie the score, 34-34. Hill, who had been benched with two fouls, started the run with a tip-in and two free throws.

The first-half showing was a marked improvement over last Saturday, when Pepperdine fell behind by 22 en route to a 72-56 loss in Spokane.

Prince, who did not play in that game because of flu, finished with 15 points. Forward Marc McDowell had 12 points--10 in the second half--and eight rebounds. Archie had 10 points and six assists.

The Waves’ aggressive man-to-man defense contributed to Gonzaga shooting 41.7% (25 for 60).

Pepperdine plays host to Portland, which beat the Waves, 69-68, last week, at 5 tonight in a game to be televised by Fox Sports West.