Pepperdine Game Recap: Waves Fall to Washington State

November 13, 2012; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears guard Tyrone Wallace (3) drives against Pepperdine Waves forward Jett Raines (45) during the second half at Haas Pavilion. The California Golden Bears defeated the Pepperdine Waves 79-62. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Game Recap

Washington State got out quickly to a 10 point lead less than four minutes into the game and never looked back.  Pepperdine trailed by 17 points one minute into the second half but managed to cut the Cougar lead to 7 points at the 6:43 mark of the half.  Washington State pulled away from that point and won comfortably, 78-61.

Pepperdine was hurt by the fact that Stacy Davis picked up his second foul less than 8 minutes into the game.  Without Davis, Brendan Lane received more attention from the Washington State defense, and while he got fouled a lot, converted only 2 of 7 free throws.  Jeremy Major led Pepperdine with 17 points, but his 2 assists to go with 3 turnovers hurt the Waves’ cause.

DaVonte Lacy had a difficult time scoring against Pepperdine’s defense, scoring only 9 points, but Royce Woolridge stepped up during Lacy’s period of struggle, scoring 20 points and dishing out 4 assists.  Guard Que Johnson stepped up off the bench scoring 14 points for the Cougars.  As Pepperdine’s defense paid close attention to Lacy, who was averaging over 20 points per game coming into the contest, Woolridge and Johnson were able to drive the lane and step out and shoot on occasion as well.

Stat of the Night

Pepperdine shot 14/29 from the free throw line as a team.  If they had cut their number of missed free throws in half, then they would have been right there with the Cougars.  Another key stat is the number of minutes Nikolas Skouen received: 3.  For someone who played upwards of 30 minutes per game the second half of last season after Caleb Willis was declared ineligible, I expected him to play a bigger role on this team.  Coach Marty Wilson has decided to go big at the “3” with Malte Kramer and Lamond Murray Jr.

Moving Forward

Considering that Pepperdine’s two leading scorers struggled to get going, it is not particularly surprising to see Pepperdine losing this game at Pullman, Washington.  For Pepperdine to be more successful on offense, Brooks and Major need to combine for a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, and Davis and Lane both need to stay out of foul trouble and convert when they get to the free throw line.  Valuing the basketball will go a long way for the Pepperdine Waves.