Pepperdine Zigs and Gets Run Over by Gonzaga, 77-64

Pepperdine was eager to prove it belongs among the elite teams in the West Coast Conference. Instead, the Waves got shot down Saturday night.

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

“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, 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 four-game winning streak broken, made only four of their first 16 shots and finished the half eight of 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 into Gonzaga’s lead.

A jump shot by Givens pulled the Waves to within 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 hit a shot in the key to make it 71-59 with 2:48 left. Gonzaga led by at least 11 the rest of the way.

“I was proud of our guys that we fought back,” Romar said. “We played two games tonight. We buried ourselves in too big a hole.”

Santangelo, a sophomore guard, scored 19 points and reserve guard Quentin Hall provided a spark for the Bulldogs by scoring 16 of his 18 points in the first half when he made all five of his shots, including two three-pointers.

“He turned the game around when he came in,” Romar said of the 5-foot-8 Hall. “He came in with an attitude and got his guys going. We know about him, but we didn’t anticipate him scoring 16 in the first half.”

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

After shooting better than 50% in five consecutive games, Pepperdine slumped to 39.7% by making 23 of 58.

Gonzaga pounded the Waves on the boards, finishing with a 37-25 rebounding edge.

“That was the best we’ve rebounded all year,” said Bulldog Coach Dan Monson, whose team beat then-No. 5 Clemson in November.

Gonzaga took command with a 21-2 run midway through the first half to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 27-10 lead.

The Waves compounded their problems with five-second and traveling violations on successive possessions during the stretch.

With games next weekend at Santa Clara and San Francisco, Romar said Pepperdine can’t afford any more breakdowns and stay in the conference race.

“We’ve got to bounce back,” he said. “The schedule doesn’t get any easier.”