Some Cool Waves Wipe Out Bruins

Waves crashed on UCLA all right, nearly a week after the team returned from Maui.

Knocked the Bruins silly, sucked them under and left them gasping for air.

These were the Pepperdine Waves, crisp and confident under Coach Paul Westphal, who is in his first year at Malibu but is armed with a wealth of NBA experience.

Not a bad roster, either.

Pepperdine led or stayed even the last 15 minutes and pulled away down the stretch, 85-78, Wednesday night in UCLA’s home opener in front of a crowd of 8,376 that was vocal early but by the end simply woozy from the blur of Bruin mistakes.

Or maybe the fans were aghast at the sight of King Neptune, the sea blue Pepperdine mascot, doing a victory dance on the sacred Pauley Pavilion floor.

Pepperdine students, once forbidden from dancing on campus, presumably were stepping out as well. After all, this was the Waves’ first victory since 1945 over UCLA, the school that normally casts a shadow all the way to Malibu.

“We know the Pepperdine guys and they always say they will beat us,” UCLA guard Rico Hines said. “They played hard for 40 minutes of bragging rights and we played with no energy.”

Early on, the Bruins (2-2) actually had too much energy, in the opinion of Coach Steve Lavin.

“We weren’t playing with any poise or sense of purpose,” he said. “And we missed nine point-blank chippies and dunks. That didn’t help.”

Two years ago under Coach Jan van Breda Kolff, Pepperdine nearly upended the Bruins, but a basket was disallowed at the buzzer. This time there was not nearly the suspense, not after Boomer Brazzle made two free throws with 13.3 seconds to play for a five-point lead.

Meanwhile, Pepperdine (2-1) heated up, shooting 59.4% in the second half after making only 37.8% in the first half.

Who are these Waves making such a big splash? Mostly they are guys who dreamed of playing at UCLA but either were ignored or couldn’t gain entrance.

Jimmy Miggins, a 6-6 junior transfer from L.A. City College, scored 20 points on fastbreaks and quick jump shots from the key. Two turnaround jumpers by Miggins tied the score, 48-48, five minutes into the second half and Pepperdine never trailed again.

Devin Montgomery, a 6-0 junior from Moorpark College, scored 10 points, including three free throws in the last 36 seconds to push the Wave advantage to 81-78. Bruin forward Jason Kapono missed a shot and Matt Barnes knocked the ball out of bounds with 16.3 seconds left, leaving the Waves to make four more free throws and seal it.

Craig Lewis, a 6-foot senior whom March Madness followers will remember as one of the Waves wearing retro afros in a startling upset of Indiana in the 2000 NCAA tournament, scored 18 points. These days Lewis wears cornrows, but he can still hit the three-pointer, making four, including back-to-back bombs that stretched a one-point lead to 68-61.

“This is the big win,” Lewis said. “The loss a couple years ago here was devastating, but most of our guys now weren’t there.

“People don’t know the players we have now, but we’re good.”

Brazzle, another veteran, scored 14 and Terrance Johnson, a redshirt freshman from Dallas, scored 12, giving Pepperdine five players in double figures.

“We had balanced scoring and everyone kept their cool despite the uptempo pace of the game,” Westphal said.

The result was another nightmare for Lavin and the Bruins. Getting upset by Ball State at the Maui Invitational is one thing, but getting upset by a Los Angeles-area team made up of players who longed to play for UCLA is another. Last year Cal State Northridge pulled it off.

UCLA’s only consistent offense came from Kapono, who scored 28, and guard Billy Knight, who had 21. They combined for all eight of UCLA’s three-pointers.

An earnest effort on the boards by the Bruins, who outrebounded Pepperdine, 48-36, was negated by 15 turnovers, including four each by freshmen Cedric Bozeman and Dijon Thompson.

UCLA led, 36-33, at the break but its first points didn’t come for 31/2 minutes.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Pepperdine played well and we were terrible,” Lavin said. “We worked 21/2 hours on defense this week and we’re disappointed that we didn’t see any progress.”

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Early Setbacks

No. 10 UCLA’s 85-78 loss Wednesday to unranked Pepperdine at Pauley Pavilion was another in a series of stunning or lopsided early season nonconference losses in Coach Steve Lavin’s six seasons:

Nov. 20, 2001 Ball State 91, No. 3 UCLA 73

Nov. 21, 2000 CS Northridge 78, at No. 15 UCLA 74

Dec. 11, 1999 No. 24 Gonzaga 59, at No. 11 UCLA 43

Nov. 27, 1998 No. 5 Maryland 70, No. 10 UCLA 54

Nov. 27, 1997 No. 4 N. Carolina 109, No. 7 UCLA 68

Nov. 20, 1996 Tulsa 77, at No. 5 UCLA 76 (OT)