Pepperdine Holds Off Santa Clara
When it was suggested to Paul Westphal that he must have walked under a ladder or crossed paths with a black cat, he laughed.
The Pepperdine coach knows it’s difficult to fathom the rash of misfortune that has befallen his team, but resorting to excuses isn’t his style.
“You just keep looking forward,” he said.
Pepperdine took a positive step by defeating Santa Clara, 73-69, in a West Coast Conference game Friday night in front of 1,737 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.
Mike Westphal, the coach’s son, made five of six free throws in the last 30 seconds to help Pepperdine hold on after it nearly blew a 24-point lead. The Waves (10-6, 2-1 in the WCC) handed Santa Clara (10-5, 1-1) only its second loss in nine games.
Considering the events of the past week, it was a much-needed victory.
Pepperdine learned Wednesday that point guard Devin Montgomery will not return this season because his broken right thumb has not healed properly, becoming the third key player lost for the season. On Sunday, the Waves had their confidence shaken in a 92-72 road loss to Gonzaga.
“It’s always good to get a win,” Paul Westphal said. “We feel that despite all the stuff that’s happened to us, any time we play we legitimately have a chance to win. It’s harder, but we still have a chance.”
Pepperdine took control with a 22-4 run in the opening minutes, creating offensive opportunities with an effective press. The Waves extended their lead to 36-12 when Alex Acker delivered a no-look pass to Boomer Brazzle for a layup with 7:44 left in the first half.
Santa Clara closed to 43-32 at halftime and continued chipping away at its deficit. The Broncos got as close as two points in the second half, the last time on Bakari Altheimer’s three-point basket to make the score 71-69 with 5.3 seconds left.
Westphal answered with two free throws with three seconds left.
-- Rob Fernas
San Diego 82, Loyola Marymount 68 -- Center Jason Keep scored 27 points in only 16 minutes as the Toreros held off the Lions before 1,751 at Gersten Pavilion.
The only things that slowed Keep were foul trouble and fingers, the latter sending him to the sidelines for almost 10 minutes in the second half after a Loyola Marymount player inadvertently jabbed Keep in the bottom of his nose.
Keep, who made 12 of 13 shots, returned after receiving three stitches, scoring five points in the final four minutes to help thwart a Lion comeback.
Keep played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, but made all five of his shots and had 11 points as the Toreros (7-8, 1-1) took a 45-31 lead at the break.
“Jason Keep played like a man,” Loyola Marymount Coach Steve Aggers said. “We tried to front him, we played behind him, we doubled-teamed him, we played zone. We just didn’t have an answer.”
Forward Jason Blair was equally unstoppable, scoring 31 points for San Diego, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
“Keep and Blair were outstanding,” San Diego Coach Brad Holland said. “Our inside attack was very, very effective.”
Sherman Gay scored 17 points for Loyola Marymount (6-12, 0-3), which lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
-- Mike Bresnahan
OTHER WCC GAMES
Juniors Blake Stepp and Corey Violette each scored 16 points to lead Gonzaga (12-5, 3-0) to a 56-53 come-from-behind victory over St. Mary’s (8-7, 1-1) at Moraga, Calif.... John Cox scored a career-high 26 points in leading San Francisco (6-9, 1-1) to a 73-59 victory over Portland (8-8, 1-1) at San Francisco.
WOMEN
Reserve Khara Smith scored a career-high 23 points, and Jenni Dant added 19 as No. 25 DePaul defeated Alabama Birmingham, 78-62, at Chicago. The Blue Devils improved to 13-4 and 2-0 in Conference USA. The Blazers are 5-10 and 1-1.