Pepperdine Wins Seventh in a Row

For one half, Pepperdine guard Tezale Archie says his team gave the University of San Francisco a little too much respect.

The usual pressure defense was present only in spurts and the Dons took a one-point halftime lead.

But it was back to basics for the Waves in the second half, when they forced 14 turnovers and ran away for a 69-58 victory Friday night before 2,462 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The victory was the seventh in a row for the Waves (15-5, 5-0), who moved into a tie for first in the West Coast Conference with Gonzaga.

Pepperdine is off to its best start in the WCC since 1992-93, when it last won the regular-season conference title.

The outcome of Friday’s game appeared in doubt until the Waves stepped up their defensive pressure early in the second half.

That was when they forced numerous turnovers and went on a 17-2 run to overcome a 35-30 deficit.

“The coach told us at halftime that we weren’t pressuring like we were supposed to,” Pepperdine forward Tommie Prince said. “So we came out and played harder in the second half.”

San Francisco (13-5, 1-4) trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half and finished with 24 turnovers.

Archie and Brandon Armstrong led the Waves with 14 points each and Prince finished with 13, including 11 in the second half.

Archie, a senior who has seen his share of disappointment in his career at Pepperdine, said he couldn’t be happier about the way the Waves are playing under first-year Coach Jan van Breda Kolff.

“I went through a 6-21 season [as a sophomore] and we’ve finally got it going and we’re winning,” Archie said.

But with the most difficult portion of the schedule ahead, Archie isn’t taking anything for granted.

“We just have to keep it going,” he said. “We’re not going to be satisfied until we get to the NCAA tournament.”