Pepperdine Defends Firestone Fieldhouse, Defeats Pacific
By Josh Horton
Jan 16, 2014; Malibu, CA, USA; Pepperdine Waves head coach Marty Wilson reacts in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Firestone Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports
The Waves were able to get their revenge on Pacific when they welcomed the Tigers to their place and proceeded to beat them by a score of 80-69.
Pepperdine got off to an early lead, but Pacific battled back and ended up cutting the deficit to five early in the second half. Pacific was never able to take the lead with the momentum they mounted, and Pepperdine ended up coasting to an 11 point victory.
Brendan Lane and Stacy Davis were the ones to lead Marty Wilson’s squad, combining for 42 points and 16 rebounds. Davis came off the bench once again for the Waves, but that did not seem to affect him too much tonight. Malcolm Brooks was Pepperdine’s other double-digit scorer with 11.
Jeremy Major scored a mere 1 point tonight, but dished out 8 assist while only turning the ball over once. His efficiency with the ball made all the difference for the Waves tonight.
Pacific was paced by a senior and a freshman today. Andrew Bock and T.J. Wallace scored 15 points apiece, combining for the Tigers team-high. Tony Gill led the Tigers on the glass with 8 rebounds, and Bock’s 4 assists were the most for the Tigers tonight.
Keys of the Game Checklist
Pacific
(Check) 3-Ball: The Tigers shot well from the perimeter tonight, draining 45.3 percent of the shots they attempted from downtown. The Tigers probably needed to hit a few more based on the results, but as a whole they did not shoot terribly.
Pepperdine
(Check) Shut down the Tigers backcourt: Bock, Taku and Harris only combined for 22 points. Bock brought it, but the other two did not.
Player of the Game
Stacy Davis
Coming off the bench, Davis scored 24 points, snagged 8 rebounds and dished out 2 assists in the win.
Thoughts
Pacific was not able to complete the sweep over Pepperdine tonight, and fell to 3-8 in conference play in the conference. On the other hand, the Waves improved to 7-5 with the win, and with the Pilots losing on Wednesday they are now 2 games in front of Portland for fifth place.
Pepperdine hosts Saint Mary’s on Saturday, while the Tigers will travel to LMU to take on LMU, who is struggling immensely as of late.