Pepperdine Falls to Gonzaga

Richie Frahm scored 13 points, all in the second half, as Gonzaga rallied to beat Pepperdine, 62-57, Thursday night at Spokane, Wash., in a game between teams that were unbeaten in the West Coast Conference.

Gonzaga, 17-5 overall and 7-0 in the WCC, trailed 36-23 at halftime, but held Pepperdine (16-6, 6-1) to 23% shooting in the second half. The Waves, who had made eight of 14 three-point shots in the first half, scored only seven points in the final 11 minutes--three on Kelvin Gibbs’ basket in the final seconds when the outcome was decided.

Pepperdine led 50-40 with 11 minutes left, but turnovers and missed shots allowed Gonzaga to chip away at the lead. Axel Dench’s dunk brought the Bulldogs within 52-50 with 4:59 left.

After two free throws by Pepperdine’s Nick Sheppard, Dench’s three-point basket made it 54-53.

The Bulldogs then went on a 9-0 run. Frahm’s finger-roll gave Gonzaga its first lead at 55-54 with 2:55 left. Dench followed with a three-point basket, and Matt Santangelo made a reverse layup and two free throws with less than a minute left.

Santangelo had with 15 points to lead all scorers. Tezale Archie led Pepperdine with 13 points, 11 in the first half.