Pepperdine Homes In on Gonzaga for Victory

Pepperdine’s laid-back image took a beating Saturday night. So did the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

A vocal and animated standing-room-only crowd of 3,314 at Firestone Fieldhouse didn’t provide all the motivation for the Waves’ 80-69 victory.

Pepperdine had enough other reasons, including the pursuit of its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1994 and payback for Gonzaga’s comeback victory a week ago in Spokane, Wash.

But this was the first time tickets were not available on the day of a game since Firestone Fieldhouse opened in 1973. The game was a sellout since Tuesday.

Pepperdine led from start to finish to end Gonzaga’s 11-game winning streak and create a deadlock at the top of the West Coast Conference standings. Both teams are 9-1 in the conference and 19-6 overall.

“The crowd was really with us and we fed off of that energy,” Pepperdine guard Craig Lewis said. “The fans were a sixth man for us.”

Lewis came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points on seven-of-12 shooting. His emphatic dunk off an alley-oop pass from Brandon Armstrong with 42 seconds left gave the fans one last chance to roar before charging the court at the final buzzer.

The Waves took their largest lead, 67-48, on a three-pointer by Lewis with 9:42 to play, then promptly turned the ball over on their next five possessions to help Gonzaga go on a 12-point run.

But Kelvin Gibbs put back a missed shot and was fouled, ending a six-minute scoring drought by the Waves. He made the free throw and order was restored, 70-60, with 3:39 to play.

Gibbs’ key offensive rebound was one of 14 for Pepperdine, which held a 43-29 advantage on the boards. Gonzaga had only six offensive rebounds.

Gonzaga forward Richie Frahm, averaging a conference-leading 17 points a game, missed all 12 of his shots, including seven from three-point range, and scored six points on free throws.