Pepperdine Seniors Answer Urgent Call
It stood to reason Kelvin Gibbs, David Lalazarian and Derrick Anderson keyed Pepperdine’s 81-71 victory over Portland in a first-round West Coast Conference tournament game Saturday at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
They are seniors, and nobody possesses a greater sense of urgency this time of year than players who know the next loss likely will be their last.
“Realizing we have to win to keep playing sent me out there with a purpose,” Gibbs said. “We’ve got to win every day here to make it to the NCAA tournament. It makes me work harder.”
Gibbs scored 22, including 16 in the second half when Portland hung close by making six three-point shots. He made 10 of 12 free throws and had eight rebounds.
Lalazarian came off the bench to score 15, all in the first half. With Portland intent on shutting down leading scorer Brandon Armstrong, Lalazarian made three three-pointers in a two-minute stretch that turned a 12-7 deficit into a 16-14 lead. He also had seven rebounds.
Anderson scored 12 on four-of-seven shooting, including two three-pointers. He had two of Pepperdine’s 11 steals.
No matter that Armstrong, who averages 22, made only five of 19 shots for 12 points. The seniors don’t have to call it a career quite yet.
“The beauty of our team is that so many guys can contribute,” Coach Jan van Breda Kolff said.
The roles of all three seniors changed the last week of December, and Pepperdine (21-7) has won 15 of 17 since.
The 6-foot-7 Gibbs moved from power forward to center, where his low-post hooks, fallaways and reverse layups are effective against taller defenders.
Lalazarian went from starting at small forward to coming off the bench at power forward--the same role he excelled in last season when the Waves went 25-9. His scoring average jumped from seven points to 12 and his presence on the boards increased.
Anderson moved from backing up Armstrong at shooting guard to starting at the point. Although he isn’t flashy, Anderson’s sound decisions and methodical ballhandling calmed what was often a helter-skelter attack.
“We changed a lot for it being midseason, but I think we are all more comfortable now and it shows on the court,” Anderson said.
Another weapon is junior guard Craig Lewis, who scored 14. Lewis is finally sound after a succession of ankle injuries and viral illnesses.
The balance is fine with Armstrong, who doesn’t yearn to be the go-to guy, even though he led the conference in scoring.
“I enjoy distributing the ball and seeing my teammates get involved, especially early in the game,” Armstrong said. “We need all these guys to be playing with confidence and knocking down shots. It’s all fine with me.”
Armstrong stayed busy on defense. The second-seeded Waves forced 20 turnovers, including 15 in the first half when they took 16 more shots than the seventh-seeded Pilots and led, 37-24.
“We did a good job on Armstrong and forced other guys to shoot from the perimeter,” Portland Coach Rob Chavez said. “I was pleased with our defense, but we dug a hole with those turnovers.”
Chavez was fired after the game. He was 93-102 in seven seasons, and the program declined after he led the Pilots to a 21-8 record in his first season and to the NCAA tournament in his second.
Gonzaga 105, St. Mary’s 65--The top-seeded Bulldogs (22-6) appear focused on repeating as conference tournament champions, shooting 59.4% against the eighth-seeded Gaels (2-27).
Blake Stepp, a guard who was named WCC freshman of the year, scored 20 points and made six of eight three-point tries.
Gonzaga shot 62.5% in the first half to take a 58-26 lead. Bulldog reserves scored 43 points, including 14 by Alex Hernandez, enabling Coach Mark Few to rest the starters much of the second half.
St. Mary’s lost its last 20 games.
San Diego 62, San Francisco 42--The fourth-seeded Toreros (16-12) took an early lead and coasted past the cold-shooting Dons (12-18).
Center Tyler Field scored 14 points on seven-of-10 shooting and forward Nick Greene had 13 for San Diego, which missed all seven of its three-point shots but scored repeatedly on easy layups.
WCC Tournament
at Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego
TODAY’S SEMIFINALS
* Pepperdine vs. Santa Clara, 5:30 p.m.
* Gonzaga vs. San Diego, 8:15 p.m.
MONDAY’S FINAL
Semifinal winners, 9 p.m., ESPN
