Touch Goes but Pepperdine Puts Up Stop Sign at UCSB

Pepperdine left its shooting touch somewhere along the Pacific Coast Highway en route to UC Santa Barbara.

But defense is more difficult to misplace.

The Waves won their third consecutive game by holding off the Gauchos, 68-64, Saturday night in Goleta.

Pepperdine (6-2) shot 40.6% and held UCSB to 34.5%. The Waves made only 11 of 36 shots in the first half.

“Defense is our key,” said Tommie Prince, a Pepperdine senior forward who was defensive player of the year in the West Coast Conference last season. “We use a lot of traps and different kinds of pressure. It confuses teams.”

Pepperdine (6-2) does not play again until Dec. 20 at the San Juan Shootout.

So far, so good under first-year Coach Jan van Breda Kolff, previously the coach at Vanderbilt.

“The top five players here are better athletes than I had at Vanderbilt,” van Breda Kolff said. “They play up-tempo defense very well and have learned quickly. I’m pleased at our progress.”

*

UC Santa Barbara is 1-5 in men’s basketball but where some see disaster, freshmen Mark Hull and B.J. Ward see opportunity.

Hull, a forward from Hoover High, and Ward, a guard from Santa Clara, are making the most of significant playing time.

Hull has started every game and is the Gauchos’ leading scorer with an 11.8 average. Ward is the first guard off the bench and averages 4.8 points and 2.3 assists.

Hull scored 19 points in a 68-64 loss to Pepperdine on Saturday night. He made seven of eight free throws and five of nine shots, and played especially well down the stretch, belying his inexperience.

“The team is getting more and more adjusted to one another,” Hull said. “We are calming down and not forcing so much.”

Ward played 19 minutes. He missed his only shot but had two assists and three rebounds.

“B.J. will be much better a month from now,” Coach Bob Williams said. “He is a great athlete who needs to become more assertive.”