Pepperdine Has Message for Rest of Conference

Pepperdine reaffirmed to the rest of the West Coast Conference on Saturday night that it isn’t ready to fade into the background.

Given little chance to beat co-leader Santa Clara, the Waves asserted themselves with a stunning run late in the second half to upset the Broncos, 82-68, and keep their conference title hopes alive with two games left. Pepperdine trails Gonzaga by two games, Santa Clara by one.

The Waves’ victory, before 1,138 at Firestone Fieldhouse, came a day after Pepperdine suspended center omm’A Givens for the rest of the season, leaving the team with only seven scholarship players.

But the undermanned Waves overwhelmed Santa Clara with a 23-4 run, holding the Broncos without a basket for eight minutes, to turn a 54-51 deficit into a 74-58 lead with 1:48 to play.

“You always have doubts, but I think this weekend we answered some of those questions,” said Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar, whose team beat San Francisco on Friday. “It was fun to see our guys competing.”

Senior guard Gerald Brown, playing in his final home game, led five Pepperdine players in double figures with 23 points, including 11 during the decisive run. Jelani Gardner added 18 points and Tommie Prince scored 13.

Brown said the third-place Waves (15-9, 7-5 in conference play) were determined this weekend to defend their home court, where they were 10-2 this season.

“It was a 911 call,” Brown said. “Everybody was focused. We had a couple of lapses in the game, but it was good to come out on top.”

Santa Clara (17-7, 8-4), after shooting 56% in taking a 37-35 halftime lead, made only eight of 30 shots (26.7%) in the second half. Pepperdine forced the Broncos to the perimeter with effective interior defense.

“They made us take tough shots,” Bronco Coach Dick Davey said. “Anybody can beat anybody in this conference, and Pepperdine has a nice group.”