Pepperdine Pressure Too Much for Fullerton

Pepperdine’s pressure defense led to steals that led to layups that led to a blur of a blowout Tuesday night in Malibu.

The Waves, continuing to flourish in first-year Coach Jan van Breda Kolff’s up-tempo system, improved to 5-2 by overwhelming Cal State Fullerton, 96-63, in a nonconference game.

Pepperdine forced 26 turnovers, including 17 steals, in scoring 20 more points than in any other game this season and winning by a larger margin than in any game since 1993.

“We changed our press and decided to be aggressive because we had greater depth and figured they would tire,” van Breda Kolff said. “I like the way this team is maturing and responding to different challenges.”

This challenge was over early in the second half when the Waves extended a 43-27 halftime lead into a 58-32 advantage. The stretch culminated with Fullerton (1-5) turning the ball over on five consecutive possessions.

Five Pepperdine players scored in double figures, led by Tommie Prince with 20 and David Lalazarian with 18. Prince, a senior forward, made eight of 10 shots. Forward Kelvin Gibbs made five of eight shots for 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Ike Harmon led Fullerton with 15 points, but had only two in the first half. The Titans shot 41% and took only 56 shots, 29 fewer than Pepperdine.

Fullerton’s only lead was 6-3 before Pepperdine went on a 15-2 run. The Titans got within 29-21 on a basket by Mark Murphy with 7:43 to play in the half, but the Waves answered with baskets after consecutive steals by Tezale Archie and Lalazarian and pulled away.

“We made their press look like they had 10 guys on the court,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said.

Pepperdine, coming off a 56% shooting performance in a victory at Wichita State on Saturday, shot 48.2%.

“For a team that has been exposed to this system for a short time, I am really proud of the progress,” van Breda Kolff said.