San Francisco Hands Pepperdine its First Conference Loss
By Josh Horton
The San Francisco Dons took down the undefeated Pepperdine Waves by a score of 76 to 66.
The Dons struggled immensely on the offensive end of the floor, scoring only 19 points in the first half. However, USF head coach Rex Walters allegedly made his players run offensive sets in halftime warm-ups instead of doing the traditional layup lines and shootaround that usually takes place. The experiment evidently worked, as the Dons scored 57 points in the second half and looked much more active in general.
Kruize Pinkins was extremely active on the offensive glass and cashed in on a plethora of second chance points. The junior college transfer forward finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Dons. Mark Tollefsen, Tim Derksen and Avry Holmes also finished with double-digit points with 16, 15, and 10 respectively. Tollefsen was 2 of 2 from behind the arc today, hitting outside shots late in the second half to prevent the Waves from climbing back in the game. Matt Glover led San Francisco in assists with 6.
Brendan Lane led the Waves in scoring with 13 points. Stacy Davis led Pepperdine in rebounding with 13. Jeremy Major was the only other player on Pepperdine to finish in double-figures with 12. Freshmen Amadi Udenyi and Lamond Murray Jr. were the Waves leading distributors with 2 assists apiece.
Keys to the Game Checklist
San Francisco
(√) Use the long ball but be cautious: The Dons attempted 16 three-pointers and made 6. San Francisco was not too reliant on the long ball and achieved offensive equilibrium, especially in the second half.
Pepperdine
(X) Find the hot hand, then go to it: The Waves did not have any particular player heat up in this contest. Malcolm Brooks appeared like he was going to (8 points on 4 of 4 shooting), but he hurt his ankle late in the first half and never returned.
Matchup of the Game
Glover vs. Major
Slight Adv. Glover: Major did not have a bad game on the offensive end (12 points, 4 of 8 from the field), but he did have 5 turnovers, most of which were the result of Glovers constricting defense.
The Bottom Line
San Francisco came out in the second half hitting on all cylinders in all facets of the game; scoring, rebounding, defending, etc. On the other hand, Pepperdine just could not get enough stops to make a comeback.
Pepperdine will keep a keen eye on the status of Malcolm Brooks. The junior JC transfer was averaging 18.3 points in the first three games of conference play, but went down late in the first half with an apparent ankle injury. His status moving forward will be crucial for the Waves.
With the win, San Francisco moves to 3-1 in conference play, while Pepperdine falls to 3-1. Pepperdine will travel to the Marriott Center to take on BYU once again. San Francisco will travel to Pacific to get a first look at the WCC newcomers.