Waves Crash Against Last-Place San Diego, 78-70

Pepperdine got caught with its guard down Thursday night, losing the battle of the backcourts and a chance to make a move in the West Coast Conference.

With guards Gerald Brown and Jelani Gardner combining for only 16 points, the Waves lost to last-place San Diego, 78-70, before 2,117 at San Diego.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar, whose team’s three-game winning streak ended. “It was a huge setback for us. I imagine we have to go undefeated the rest of the way to have a chance to win [the] conference.”

The Waves (13-8, 5-4 in the WCC) could have moved within half a game of first place with a victory. But with Brown and Gardner, the team’s leading scorers, having off nights, Pepperdine slipped to fourth.

Brown made one of eight shots and finished with a season-low six points, and Gardner had twice as many turnovers (six) as assists (three).

Romar benched Gardner with 3:56 to play after the junior threw away a pass on a fastbreak with San Diego leading, 69-63. The turnover came only minutes after Gardner took a hard fall on a drive to the basket.

“He fell on his tailbone and could hardly move,” Romar said. “I watched him. He saw the open man but he didn’t have anything on [the pass].”

In contrast, San Diego (10-11, 2-7) thrived on its guard play. Alex Parker and freshman reserve Dana White each had 17 points and Brock Jacobsen, a junior from Crescenta Valley High, scored a season-high 15.

Tommie Prince led Pepperdine with 15 points.