Pepperdine Holds Steady in Rough Seas, 74-63

Fouls and illness threatened to make it a rough Saturday night for Pepperdine, but the Waves didn’t panic when trouble struck.

Fending off a challenge from last-place San Diego, Pepperdine kept its composure down the stretch and pulled away for a 74-63 West Coast Conference victory before a season-high crowd of 3,210 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Forward Bryan Hill led the Waves with 20 points despite playing only 22 minutes because of foul trouble. The 6-foot-7 senior was benched after picking up his fourth foul with 12:03 to play, depleting a front line that was without starting forward Kelvin Gibbs, who played only briefly because of illness.

Instead of caving in, though, Pepperdine extended a six-point lead in Hill’s absence and then put the Toreros away when he returned with just under five minutes to play.

“We played smart basketball down the stretch,” Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “San Diego did a good job of defending us early, but our guys stayed focused and went back to fundamentals.”

Jelani Gardner’s pinpoint passing sparked an 11-3 run that gave the Waves a 70-55 lead with 2:33 to play. Gardner, who had 12 points and 12 assists, made passes that resulted in layups for Marc McDowell, Hill and Gerald Brown on three successive possessions during the stretch. Gardner then took the ball to basket himself, scoring on a breakaway dunk.

With its third consecutive victory, Pepperdine (13-7, 5-3 in the WCC) moved into a tie for third with Santa Clara, one game behind co-leaders Gonzaga and Portland.

Forward Brian Miles scored 19 points for San Diego (9-11, 1-7).