TRYING TO SCARE UP AN UPSET

In a conference call with the media this week, West Coast Conference assistant commissioner Don Ott pointed out that Pepperdine’s basketball team has “scared the pants off a lot of folks.”

Unfortunately for the Waves, that’s about the best that can be said of their efforts this season.

Once the scourge of the WCC, Pepperdine enters the conference tournament Saturday at Loyola Marymount as little more than a sideshow curiosity, a team capable of producing suspenseful moments against the league’s upper echelon but more times than not faltering at critical junctures.

Perhaps the Waves’ most telling statistic is an 0-7 record in games decided by four points or fewer, five of the losses in WCC play.

“Hopefully we’ve been saving all those victories in the close games for the conference tournament,” Coach Lorenzo Romar said.

Romar chuckled when he said it, but there have been few lighthearted moments in his first season in Malibu.

When Pepperdine lost, 69-67, in double overtime to St. Mary’s at home two weeks ago, Romar emerged from the locker room with red eyes and a blank expression.

“It’s been a disappointing conference [season] for us in that we’ve been so close and yet so far,” said Romar, whose team gets another crack at St. Mary’s, the WCC co-champion, in a first-round game at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

No one said it would be easy, and it hasn’t been.

Pepperdine (6-20, 4-10 in WCC play) has suffered from poor shooting, too many turnovers and a lack of size and depth. The Waves enter the tournament with eight available scholarship players, after losing their last three games and nine of 11.

Moreover, they reached 20 losses for only the third time in school history and the first time since the 1965-66 season, when Pepperdine hit an all-time low at 2-24.

Yet, there have been signs of encouragement. The Waves doubled their conference victories from last season, including an upset over co-champion Santa Clara, and, for the most part, they have played hard.

“Pepperdine did a real nice job late in the year,” Gonzaga Coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “They beat us and they beat Santa Clara. We thought they were extremely athletic.”

But athleticism and aggressive defense can take a team only so far when it shoots 41.5%, makes six of every 10 free throws and averages 16.5 turnovers.

Pepperdine needs an overhaul, and that’s what will take place next season when transfers omm’A Givens and Jelani Gardner become eligible, senior leader Gerald Brown returns from injury, Kelvin Gibbs starts his college career after sitting out in NCAA-imposed limbo, and two recruits are added.

It’s entirely possible that only one starter--all-conference center Bryan Hill--will remain in the lineup, with the 6-foot-8 junior moving back to power forward.

In 1997-98, the Waves become bigger with former UCLA bench-warmer Givens (6-10) and Atlanta prep Cedric Suitt (6-11) at center. They become deeper at forward with Gibbs (6-7), a freshman whose eligibility was revoked by the NCAA because of an academic matter and then restored after Pepperdine appealed.

They become more skilled at guard with Brown (6-3), a two-time All-WCC pick who used a redshirt year to recover from knee surgery, and Gardner (6-6), who played two seasons at California.

The linchpin to Romar’s grand plan could be Kevin Bradley, a talented point guard for Crenshaw High, the City Section’s top team.

Bradley is leaning toward Pepperdine--over Oregon, Syracuse, Washington State, Cincinnati and Tulane--but he has yet to get a required score after taking the Scholastic Assessment Test twice.

Bradley says Romar has told him he would start next season, revealing the coach’s desire to find a floor leader in light of Pepperdine’s spotty guard play this season.

The Waves lose two seniors--starting guards Marques Johnson and Khary Hervey. They will miss Johnson’s three-point shooting, but next season’s players should more than make up for the loss.

Romar is reluctant to talk about the future makeup of his team, choosing to concentrate on what can be salvaged this season. By winning three games in the conference tournament, the Waves can secure the WCC’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

Don’t bet the farm on that happening. Although the tournament is considered wide open, Pepperdine has not won successive games this season and is 0-10 on Saturdays, reflecting the team’s lack of staying power.

Winning three games in three days--Monday’s 9 p.m. final will be televised by ESPN--is seemingly more than the depth-weary Waves can muster.

The roster has been further depleted by a season-ending shoulder injury to backup guard R.J. Powell.

In St. Mary’s (20-7, 10-4), Pepperdine is playing the WCC’s hottest team. The Gaels have a six-game winning streak and pose particular problems for the Waves with their combination of inside power--7-3 center Brad Millard is a handful at both ends of court--and perimeter shooting.

“Out of the seven teams we could face, this is the toughest matchup,” Romar said.

If Pepperdine has an advantage against St. Mary’s, it is that the game is close to home and at the site of its only road victory this season, 59-52, over Loyola.

The Waves have a successful history in the WCC tournament, winning a record three championships and an all-time high 17 games, including last year’s first-round stunner over Santa Clara, the regular-season champion.

Perhaps Pepperdine can come away with more than a scare this time.

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West Coast Conference Tournament at Loyola Marymount

First Round--Saturday

* No. 3 San Francisco (14-12, 9-5 in the WCC) vs. No. 6 Portland (9-17, 4-10), noon

* No. 2 St. Mary’s (20-7, 10-4) vs. No. 7 Pepperdine (6-20, 4-10), 2:15 p.m.

* No. 1 Santa Clara (16-10, 10-4) vs. No. 8 Loyola Marymount (6-20, 3-11), 6 p.m.

* No. 4 San Diego (16-10, 8-6) vs. No. 5 Gonzaga (15-11, 8-6), 8:15 p.m.

Semifinals--Sunday

Televised live by Fox Sports West

* Games at 5:30 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. The highest remaining seeded team will play the lowest remaining seeded team. The San Diego-Gonzaga winner will play in the 7:45 p.m. game.

Championship--Monday, at 9 p.m.

Televised live by ESPN.

Tickets: Tournament pass $45, individual tickets $13, $10. Under age 18 and WCC students $6.

Box office: (310) 338-4532