Waves hold off Lions

Nine times this season, Pepperdine has lost games by five or fewer points, so it’s no wonder Coach Vance Walberg was looking for some celestial intervention Saturday night at Loyola Marymount when it appeared another tight finish was imminent.

Perhaps he got it as the Waves held off a Lions rally and won the West Coast Conference game, 57-55, when Damian Martin missed a layup with five seconds remaining, rebounded his own miss and then missed the putback with two seconds to play.

It was Pepperdine’s first victory of the season in games decided by five points or fewer and ended a six-game losing streak. Walberg said his mother, Doris, who passed away Jan. 11 after battling cancer, may have played a part.

“I just kept praying to my mom,” he said. “She definitely helped us. I think she blew that last shot away from the basket.”

Pepperdine (5-16, 1-4), which led by as many as 14 in the second half, had a seven-point lead with 1:42 left, but Martin got a steal and a layup, then Adoyah Miller made a three-pointer to get the Lions (8-13, 0-5) to within two at 57-55 with 56 seconds to play.

-- Peter Yoon

Cal State Fullerton 71, UC Irvine 68 -- Frank Robinson made a three-point basket with one second to play at Irvine’s Bren Center to give the Titans the Big West Conference victory.

The Titans (14-4, 5-2) held a 66-55 lead with 3:36 to play, but the Anteaters (9-11, 3-3) used a 13-2 run, capped by Chuma Awaji’s driving layup, to tie the score at 68-68 with 14.5 seconds remaining.

Long Beach State 99, UC Riverside 65 -- The 49ers (13-5, 4-1) won for the 11th time in 12 games and improved to 8-0 at home this season. The win combined with UC Santa Barbara’s loss to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo left them alone in first place in the Big West.

Long Beach State beat Riverside (3-17, 0-7) for the fourth straight time. The Highlanders lost their 15th straight, one shy of a school record set more than 50 years ago.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 71, UC Santa Barbara 61 -- The Mustangs (9-8, 2-3) handed the Gauchos (11-6, 3-2) their second straight home defeat.

Santa Barbara’s Alex Harris, who entered the game as the nation’s 12th-leading scorer with a 21.2 average, finished four for 16 from the field. But he made 10 free throws and led the Gauchos with 19 points.

WOMEN

UCLA 76, Arizona 73 -- The Bruins (10-11, 4-5 Pacific 10 Conference) shot 59% in the second half at Tucson, with Amanda Livingston getting a rebound and a basket to give them a 71-68 lead with 52 seconds left.

Joy Hollingsworth and Jessica Arnold made back-to-back three-point baskets for the Wildcats (7-14, 1-8) to trim a UCLA 11-point lead to 69-68 with 1:20 left.