Dickau Upstages Waves
Of all the nights to try to beat Gonzaga on its home court, Pepperdine ended up here on this one.
It was Senior Night for Dan Dickau.
Four thousand fans can get quite loud when they’re saying goodbye to their tousle-headed star--and aiming for payback after Pepperdine’s upset victory last month in Malibu.
Jittery-looking Pepperdine was in trouble from the start, and No. 8 Gonzaga pounced on the Waves’ turnovers and missed shots to score the first 11 points and take a 15-point lead by halftime in a 91-78 victory at the Martin Centre.
It was the 26th home victory in a row for Gonzaga.
“The crowd can’t score any points,” Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal said. “Gonzaga’s a good team.”
It was a game that could have clinched the West Coast Conference regular-season title and probably a Top 25 ranking for Pepperdine, which had been unbeaten in league games.
Instead, Gonzaga (24-3) and Pepperdine (18-7) are tied for first in the WCC at 11-1 with two games left.
“We’ve got home games and they’ve got road games, but I don’t think they’ll have any problem,” said Westphal, whose team closes with San Diego--which took the Waves to two overtimes earlier--and Santa Clara.
Gonzaga plays next at San Francisco and St. Mary’s.
The expectation is that Gonzaga and Pepperdine will meet for Round III in the WCC conference tournament final in San Diego.
“I hope we’ll get there,” Westphal said. “I’m sure Gonzaga will get there.
“I think they are [the eighth-best team in the country.] I’m a big fan of theirs. I think they’re really good.”
It was a game full of intensity and more than a little controversy.
Pepperdine was assessed a technical for illegal substitution at the start of the second half after Westphal started a different lineup than the official scorer recorded, although Westphal said he sent two people to the table with a lineup that inserted Glen McGowan and Craig Lewis.
“I sent an assistant coach and a manager and told them and they wrote it down wrong,” Westphal said. “I’m not saying he’s cheating, but something’s wrong with that rule. You should not be penalized if the home scorer writes it down wrong.”
There was another official scorer’s issue involving a basket credited to Pepperdine’s Robert Turner that should have been credited to Dickau. However, the official scorebook stands--and a closer game would have made for a bigger controversy.
Dickau officially scored 26 points--including four three-pointers and 14 of 15 free throws--and added seven assists.
But one of the differences in the game was rebounding.
In Pepperdine’s 88-79 victory last month, the Waves outrebounded Gonzaga by 14 and had 24 offensive rebounds.
This time, Gonzaga won the battle of the boards by 13.
Pepperdine didn’t shoot well in the first half, making only 37%, but improved in the second half to finish at 42.9%.
The Waves also struggled uncharacteristically from the line, making only 18 of 32 free throws (56.3%). Gonzaga made 33 of 42 (78.6%).
McGowan scored 26 points and Jimmy Miggins added 17.
The Waves tried to rally and had their chances, but Lewis and Boomer Brazzle missed shots when they had an opportunity to make the score close.
Pepperdine’s winning streak was ended at 13 games. It had been the longest in the nation.
It was a big-game atmosphere for a Pepperdine team that still hasn’t developed much of a public identity despite splashy upsets over UCLA, USC and Gonzaga.
They’re mostly known simply as the team coached by Westphal, the easy-going coach on a forced NBA sabbatical with a great office view.
That’s partly because Pepperdine’s lacks a dominant player.
Miggins, a transfer from L.A. City College, is the leading scorer, averaging about 15 points. But he is only one of six players who have led Pepperdine in scoring and one of four averaging in low double figures.
Guard Devin Montgomery, another player in that core group, is a transfer from Moorpark College.
It didn’t matter amid the hubbub of senior night.
“It’s so emotional,” Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said. “I’m crying on the sidelines, then we’ve got to get in there and scratch and claw. But I knew with Dan we’d be all right.”