Waves Stay in Control

Paul Westphal said he was worried before the game. “Scared to death,” he said.

The Pepperdine coach had reason to fret against San Francisco, which badly needed a win at Firestone Fieldhouse to stay in striking distance of the Waves and Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference.

Instead, Pepperdine kept the Dons at bay, 79-72, Friday before 2,946, for its 11th victory in a row.

While the Waves, 16-6 in conference and 9-0 in the WCC, didn’t put on a clinic, they were good enough to win a game that had 49 fouls and 60 free throw attempts.

The Waves remained a game ahead of Gonzaga (21-3, 8-1) in the WCC standings. The two teams play next Saturday at Spokane, Wash. .

Darrell Tucker led San Francisco (11-11, 6-3) with 20 points.

Mike Bresnahan

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Saint Mary’s 62, Loyola Marymount 44--The Lions dropped their sixth in a row with their worst offensive performance of the season in the WCC game at Gersten Pavilion.

From the opening tip, Loyola (9-14, 2-7) wasn’t in the game against the Gaels (7-15, 2-7). The Lions missed their first 10 shots and went 7:15 without getting their first field goal.

“They jumped on us from the very beginning,” Loyola Coach Steve Aggers said. “Our team was not prepared to play. I will take responsibility for that. I really don’t have an answer for that [performance].”

Eric Stephens