Pepperdine Can’t Derail Harrick

Jim Harrick was back in town, Southern drawl and all, stopping by Pepperdine for a reunion of sorts.

Name tags and introductions weren’t necessary for Harrick, who guided the Waves to four NCAA tournament appearances in nine seasons at Pepperdine before leading UCLA to a national title in 1995.

Harrick was gregarious and friendly, although his Georgia team wasn’t exactly kind to the hosts, routing Pepperdine, 91-74, in a nonconference basketball game Monday night at Malibu before 3,287.

The Bulldogs handled Pepperdine inside and outside, outrebounding the Waves and dropping in 13 of 23 three-point shots along the way.

After the game, fans and family members greeted Harrick with hugs and handshakes as he emerged from the locker room in a charcoal gray suit.

“It felt very comfortable to be back,” Harrick said. “This is a great, great place. There’s no pressure.

“People like you here,” he said with a wink. “I’ve never been any place where people like you.”

Harrick, born and reared in West Virginia, lived in Los Angeles for 37 years, coaching at Morningside High in Inglewood before moving onto Pepperdine and UCLA.

Three of Harrick’s assistants have connections to Southern California. His son, Jim, Jr., attended Newbury Park High and graduated from Pepperdine in 1987; Jeff Dunlap graduated from UCLA in 1988; and James Holland spent six seasons on the San Diego State coaching staff.

Harrick came to Malibu three years ago as coach of Rhode Island and lost to Pepperdine, 61-57.

This was different.

The Bulldogs (9-1) used an 11-0 run to start the second half, taking a 56-42 lead and all but putting away the game.

The Waves, done in by another poor rebounding effort and a cold-shooting second half, fell to 4-5.

In a bit of a scheduling oddity, the game marked only the fifth time Georgia has played in California, and it was the Bulldogs’ first victory in the state.

“We came out for the second half and upped our intensity, upped our defense,” Harrick said. “It’s special to come out here and win like that.”

The Waves, after defeating USC and proclaiming themselves city champions by virtue of an earlier victory over UCLA, have lost three consecutive games.

They shot poorly and were outrebounded substantially in lopsided losses to UC Santa Barbara and Oregon, a pattern that continued against Georgia.

The Waves gave up 15 offensive rebounds in the first half.

“It was unbelievable ... I’ve never seen anything like that,” Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal said. “You can’t keep up that pace against a team like Georgia.”

Pepperdine was outrebounded, 41-29, and made 30 of 69 shots (43.5%). The Waves’ shooting woes appeared to be over after Pepperdine made 10 of its first 16 shots and led, 22-19.

But the Waves found a new problem--foul trouble. Center Cedric Suitt blocked three shots in the first five minutes, but picked up his second foul 5:35 into the game and sat the remainder of the first half. With their only true shot-blocking presence sitting out, the Waves were pounded on the inside.

Pepperdine tried to counter with a three-point attack but made only five of 21 three-point shots, including two for 14 in the second half.

“We’ve got to start concentrating on the little things, boxing out, better offensive execution,” Pepperdine forward Jimmy Miggins said. Miggins scored 17 points for the Waves. Jarvis Hayes had 25 points for Georgia and Tony Cole scored 21.