AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

It wasn’t as dramatic as surviving the Perfect Storm, but Pepperdine made it through choppy waters and might sail to a second consecutive NCAA tournament berth in men’s basketball.

A 6-5 start has given way to six consecutive victories, including a 4-0 West Coast Conference mark. Now the Waves are in a strong position to equal or surpass last season’s 25-9 record, its best since 1985-86. Ten WCC games and the conference tournament remain.

Gonzaga, an NCAA tournament darling the last two seasons, again is Pepperdine’s toughest foe. Despite losing Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm, the Bulldogs have the same record as the Waves, 12-5, 4-0 in conference play.

Gonzaga visits Pepperdine on Feb 2, and the Waves travel to Spokane, Wash., on Feb. 17.

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At 14-9, The Master’s men’s team has dropped a peg from its nationally ranked status of recent seasons. But senior center Jacy Armbruster is finishing his career in strong fashion.

Armbruster, only 6-6, averages 17.3 points on 50.2% shooting and 6.0 rebounds. He is the Mustangs’ leading scorer and only Bas Van Rhee, a junior forward from Thousand Oaks High, has more rebounds.

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Rasheeda Clark of Pepperdine, West Coast Conference player of the year last season, is back after missing six games because of a knee injury. Clark scored 22 points in two women’s basketball games against Loyola Marymount last week.

Guard Erin Buescher, the All-American transfer who has led The Master’s to a 20-2 record, will miss at least two weeks because of a stress fracture in her foot.

Buescher, 6 feet 2, was Big West Conference player of the year the last three seasons for Division I UC Santa Barbara. She is averaging 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Mustangs, who are ranked No. 8 in the NAIA.

Master’s has won 18 in a row, including the last two without Buescher. Lesley DuBois, Buescher’s teammate at Rincon Valley Christian High in Santa Rosa, averages 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds.