Santa Clara Sinks Pepperdine, 58-54

After pulling out a two-point victory the day before, Pepperdine fell just short Sunday night against Santa Clara.

About two feet short.

With his team down by three and 20 seconds left, Pepperdine guard Jelani Gardner dribbled down the floor and put up a three-point shot with seven seconds left. It fell short of the rim by about two feet and the host Broncos held on for a 58-54 victory before 3,977 at Toso Pavilion to advance to tonight’s championship game.

The fourth-seeded Broncos (14-14) made 10 of 13 three-pointers, a night after making nine of 13 from long range. That left Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar stunned.

“Ten of 13, whoa,” he said. “They scored 30 points on three-pointers. That’s something you don’t anticipate.”

The game went much the way Romar would have liked. The second-seeded Waves (19-12) forced 17 turnovers and limited the Broncos six points below their average. But unlike San Francisco, Santa Clara made big shots down the stretch.

Delano D’Oyen made two three-pointers in the final four minutes, one to tie the score and one to give the Broncos the lead for good at 55-52.

Junior Nathan Fast made two free throws with 21 seconds left for a 57-54 lead before Gardner’s miss.

“Yesterday USF missed shots and the opposite happened tonight,” Romar said. “Nathan Fast and Delano D’Oyen made some big plays.”

A day after collecting a double-double, Pepperdine sophomore Kelvin Gibbs scored a team-high 17 and grabbed seven rebounds. Fast had a game-high 19 points.

“I felt I should have been on the all-conference team,” said Gibbs, who was an all-WCC honorable-mention choice. “I came into the tournament wanting to show everyone what I can do and I wanted to carry my team into the championship.”

The Waves must wait until next Sunday to see if they receive a bid to the NIT.

“We’re not sure,” Romar said of his team’s chances at the bid. “We know the NIT usually likes to send a team from the WCC.”

Santa Clara forward Todd Wuschnig, tied for seventh in rebounding in the WCC this season, did not play after experiencing an irregular heart beat and shortness of breath during Saturday’s game against Loyola Marymount.

Gonzaga 70, St. Mary’s 57--For the second year in a row, the Bulldogs will play in the championship game as the tournament’s top-seeded team. A night after blowing out Portland, Gonzaga (24-6) scored 24 of the game’s first 34 points, then weathered a comeback by the sixth-seeded Gaels (13-18) in the other semifinal.

Matt Santangelo led a balanced scoring attack for the Bulldogs with 15 points. Quentin Hall added 11 as every Gonzaga player scored.

The Bulldogs carried a 37-22 lead into halftime, but St. Mary’s went on a 14-3 run to open the second half and got as close as four with 3:46 to play.

Guard Frank Allocco, who scored the eventual game-winner Saturday in overtime against San Diego, had a tournament-high 31 against for the Gaels. Conference player of the year Eric Schraeder was limited to six points by the Bulldogs before fouling out.

It is only the sixth time in the tournament’s history that the No. 1 seeded team advanced to the championship game. Top-seeded teams have been 3-2 in championship games.