Gardner Makes Save for the Waves
Pepperdine guard Jelani Gardner said he came into Saturday night’s game against Loyola Marymount with something to prove.
Consider his mission accomplished.
Though he almost became the goat for the second consecutive game, Gardner came through by converting a three-point play with 8.8 seconds to play to give the Waves a 70-67 victory over their West Coast Conference rival before 2,150 at Gersten Pavilion.
With the score tied, 67-67, Gardner intercepted a pass from Haywood Eaddy in the Loyola backcourt, drove for a layup and was fouled by Willie Allen before making the free throw.
Eaddy’s pass was intended for Allen, who on Wednesday forced a turnover from Gardner and then drove past him for the deciding basket in Loyola’s 81-79 overtime victory at Pepperdine.
“I thought Eaddy would be trying to go one-on-one,” said Gardner, who was guarding Allen on the play. “I came off a screen and was just in the right place at the right time.”
Gardner scored only five of his game-high 24 points in the second half, but they were huge. His layup with 43 seconds left tied the score, 67-67.
“I never let my confidence fade,” he said.
Pepperdine (11-7, 3-3 in the WCC) blew an eight-point lead in the second half, making one of nine free throws in one stretch and squandering two layup opportunities. The Waves’ most frustrating moment came with Loyola leading, 65-63, when Gardner had the ball alone under the Loyola basket following a turnover but dropped it off his foot out of bounds.
“I thought, this can’t happen to us again,” Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “But our guys fought through that.”
After Gardner’s gaffe, Loyola (5-13, 1-5) increased its lead to 67-63 on a putback basket by Elton Mashack. Pepperdine cut it to two on a hook shot by omm’A Givens with 1:26 to play.
Comebacks were in fashion Saturday night. Eaddy and Givens both returned to action after missing three games, though neither started.
Eaddy, the Lions’ leading scorer, was expected to be sidelined two to six weeks after reportedly suffering a broken finger Jan. 10 against Portland. But the 5-foot-4 guard’s injury turned out to be less severe.
Givens, a 6-11 center, contributed six points and five rebounds in his first game since punching and breaking the jaw of teammate Aaron Butler in practice.
“I made a bad mistake,” Givens said. “I’m trying to get that resolved and move on with our season. I thought I played a pretty solid game.”
The Waves also got a lift from Tommie Prince, who made three three-point baskets in the second half and finished with 14 points. Gerald Brown chipped in with 13 points and Bryan Hill had 10 rebounds.
Pepperdine, after falling behind by 10 outscored Loyola, 18-4, in the last 7:47 of the first half to take a 35-31 lead. Gardner and Brown combined for 30 of the Waves’ first-half points, with Gardner scoring 19 on eight-for-11 shooting.