Waves Roll Easily Past Portland

Pepperdine opened the game with a 20-2 run and were never challenged during a 94-58 West Coast Conference victory Thursday at Portland.

The Waves (18-6, 10-1 in conference play) led by as many as 28 points in the first half and 41 in the second half. The victory keeps Pepperdine within one game of first-place Gonzaga, which hosts the Waves on Saturday, with three games left in the regular season.

Brandon Armstrong made eight of 11 shots from the field to finish with 22 points for Pepperdine, which won for the 12th time in 13 games and eighth in a row on the road. Derrick Armstrong and Kelvin Gibbs each had 18 points for the Waves.

Portland (10-14, 3-8) was led by Tim Frost, who had 20 points and seven rebounds. Ryan Jones added 16 points.

After taking a 20-2 lead, Pepperdine extended it to 31-9 with 10 minutes left in the first half. Anderson capped the run with seven unanswered points. He made four three-pointers in the game.

Armstrong took over in the second half with 11 points during a seven-minute span. He made four of six three-point shots and the Waves connected on 12 of 22 in the game.

Gibbs then converted a three-point play to give the Waves their biggest lead at 84-43. Gibbs finished with 18 points.

Boomer Brazzle and Craig Lewis, who both starred at Portland’s Benson High, helped the Waves. Brazzle had eight rebounds and Lewis scored 13.

Gonzaga 101, Loyola Marymount 68--Casey Calvary had 25 points and seven rebounds as Gonzaga extended its school-record winning streak to 13 games and remained undefeated in the West Coast Conference.

Calvary made eight of 11 free throws for the Bulldogs (19-5, 11-0). Mark Spink scored 14 points and had a game-high nine rebounds.

The Lions (7-17, 3-8) were led by Robert Davis, who made seven of nine free throws. Reserve Tyler McClenahan scored 12 points on four of eight shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Gonzaga led 20-5 midway through the first half. Loyola Marymount was held without a field goal for an eight-minute stretch in the first half.

Gonzaga was hot from three-point range, making 10 of 22 shots. Loyola Marymount only made four of 11, all of those from McClenahan.