Pepperdine Is Put in Its Place

With a chance to prove it belongs among the elite teams in the West Coast Conference, Pepperdine got shot down Saturday night.

Gonzaga, reaffirming its position as a championship contender, shot 67% in the first half to take a 29-point lead and turned back a late rally to beat the Waves, 77-64, before 2,422 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

“I would say at this point that Gonzaga is the class of our conference,” Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “They came into our place and took it to us. They picked us apart.”

The Bulldogs, 13-4 overall, 2-0 in the WCC, made 20 of 30 shots, including seven of 11 from three-point range, to take a 53-24 halftime lead.

For Pepperdine (9-5, 1-1), the first half was a disaster. The Waves, who had a winning streak ended at four games, made only four of their first 16 shots and finished the half eight for 28 (28.6%).

Center omm’A Givens summed up the Waves’ early frustration: “We couldn’t shoot. We couldn’t defend. Pitiful, man.”

Pepperdine, losing for the first time in seven home games, didn’t mount a challenge until midway through the second half when it went on a 15-0 run to cut Gonzaga’s lead to 10 points.

A jump shot by Givens made it 66-56 with 4:42 to play, but Matt Santangelo answered with a three-point basket for the Bulldogs.

After Jelani Gardner’s three-point basket got Pepperdine to within 10 again, Santangelo made a shot in the key to make it 71-59 with 2:48 to play. Gonzaga led by at least 11 the rest of the way.

Santangelo scored 19 points and reserve guard Quentin Hall scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half when he made all five of his shots, including two three-pointers.

Gardner led Pepperdine with 16 points, most of them coming late in the game. Gerald Brown, the Waves’ leading scorer, finished with 14 but made only six of 16 shots.

Gonzaga took command with a 21-2 run midway through the first half, taking a 27-10 lead. The Waves compounded their problems with five-second and traveling violations on successive possessions during the stretch.