Waves Move Closer to Title, 13-8
The Pepperdine men’s water polo team, ranked No. 2 in the nation, will face top-ranked USC for the fourth and final time this season Sunday in Fort Lauderdale, this time for the national championship.
The Waves used an 8-0 run over three quarters to swamp UC Davis, 13-8, in an NCAA tournament semifinal Friday at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex.
Junior two-meter man Jeremy Pope had five points, including a two-point goal, and senior driver Jack Kocur contributed three goals for the Waves (24-3).
Chris Haggans of UC Davis (15-19) scored the game’s first goal with 4:49 to play in the first quarter. Afterward, the Aggie offense sputtered, blowing five man-advantage situations in the first half and failing to score again until there were 36 seconds to go in the third quarter.
The Waves have met USC (21-6) three times, losing only in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament last Saturday.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Riverside 106, Moorpark 99--Cameron Henderson scored 18 points and Anthony McCurtis had 16 for Moorpark (5-3) in a consolation semifinal of the Antelope Valley tournament. Henderson led the Raiders with nine rebounds.
Charles Dixon and Ceneka Shaw each scored 15 points for Moorpark. Dixon had seven rebounds. Marques Pena scored 13 points.
Valley 68, Cerro Coso 60--Pierre Elize scored 17 points for Valley (6-2) in a semifinal game of the Bakersfield tournament.
Valley’s Leon Brisport scored 16 points and Germaine Chase had 12 points and six assists.
The Monarchs had a 58-44 lead with 8:07 to play and increased the advantage to 62-44 before Cerro Coso rallied. Cerro Coso trailed, 62-52, with 1:29 to play.
Antelope Valley 105, Mira Costa 95--John Burrell scored 26 points to lead the Marauders (8-2) in a semifinal game of the Antelope Valley tournament.
Marek Ondera scored 29 points for Mira Costa (6-2).
L.A. Trade Tech 63, Canyons 47--Olin Simplis scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to pace Trade Tech (6-4) in a consolation semifinal of the the Antelope Valley tournament.
Bryan Finley led Canyons (2-4) with 13 points.
L.A. City 97, Oxnard 77--Audreece Dickson scored 23 points and Mike Lewis added 12 points for Oxnard (1-7) in a semifinal game of the Monterey Bay tournament.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Pierce 79, Mt. San Jacinto 46--Aneesha Ross had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Cheryl Flores had 19 points, 10 assists and six steals for host Pierce (1-4) in a nonconference game.