Waves Share Title With the Bulldogs
It started off as senior night, turned into a three-for-all and ended with Pepperdine sharing the West Coast Conference championship.
Few people outside Malibu thought Pepperdine would have more than a mediocre season, but there the Waves were Saturday, thumbing their noses one final time at the preseason WCC coaches’ poll that picked them to finish fourth.
Pepperdine set a school record with 17 three-point baskets, drubbed Santa Clara, 96-58, and shared the WCC title with Gonzaga, a 74-55 winner against St. Mary’s.
The Waves (20-7 overall, 13-1 in the WCC) found out afterward that they won a coin flip with Gonzaga (26-3, 13-1) to determine the No. 1 seeding for the WCC tournament, which begins Saturday at University of San Diego.
Pepperdine will play Portland (6-22, 2-11) in the first round. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Playing in front of 1,843 at Firestone Fieldhouse, Pepperdine finished with its best conference record since going 14-0 in 1991-92.
The fans said goodbye to seniors Cedric Suitt and Craig Lewis, then watched junior Devin Montgomery and freshman Terrance Johnson bury Santa Clara with a barrage of three-point shots on the way to a 47-33 halftime lead.
Montgomery finished with a career-high 26 points and set a school record for three-point percentage in a game by making all six of his attempts.
“Throughout the whole season, I knew I could do that. Fortunately, it was tonight,” Montgomery said. “I wanted to give the seniors a good game. They deserve it.”
Johnson scored 14 points, making four of seven three-point attempts.
Afterward, Coach Paul Westphal made a case for the Waves as an NCAA tournament team, regardless of the outcome of the WCC tournament.
“I don’t think there’s any way they could keep us out,” said Westphal, in his first season at Pepperdine. “We won 20 games, played the fourth-toughest schedule in the country and beat the No. 7 team [Gonzaga]. I think any fair-minded person who looks at it says they’ve got to be in.”
Steve Ross scored 11 points and was the only player with more than seven points for Santa Clara (13-14, 8-6).
Mike Bresnahan
*
No. 7 Gonzaga 74, St. Mary’s 55--Dan Dickau scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half as the Bulldogs clinched a share of their fourth WCC title in five years before 3,411 at Moraga, Calif.
Ronny Turiaf added 13 points and 10 rebounds as Gonzaga (26-3, 13-1) won its 11th game in a row and 23rd of 24. Cory Violette had 14 points.
Ethnie Stubbs scored 13 points to lead St. Mary’s (8-19, 3-11), which has lost 10 in a row to Gonzaga. Ross Benson added 11.
Gonzaga, which has won at least 20 games in eight of the past nine seasons, will finish with its fewest losses ever as a Division I member. The Bulldogs were 19-6 in 1967.
San Diego 87, Loyola Marymount 71--Andre Laws scored 32 points and Jason Blair had 22 as the Toreros rolled to a victory at Gersten Pavilion.
The Toreros (15-12, 7-7) held the Lions to one field goal in the final seven minutes of the first half and led by as much as 22 in the second.
The Lions (9-19, 2-12) pulled within 11 on Andy Osborn’s three-point basket with 3:46 remaining, but could get no closer in losing their 11th in a row.
Osborn had 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
Philipp Czernin tied a career high with 17 points to lead the Lions, who were outrebounded, 39-29.
San Francisco 97, Portland 81--Darrell Tucker scored 34 points and had 11 rebounds to lift the Dons at San Francisco.
Shamell Stallworth added a career-high 24 points, including six three-point baskets, for the Dons (13-13, 8-5), who made a school-record 17 three-point shots. Casey Frandsen led the Pilots with 30 points and Coky Rochin added 17 points and nine rebounds.
The Dons will be seeded fourth in the conference tournament and play San Diego in the first round.
Associated Press
