Pepperdine Sweeps LMU in Regular Season

Jan 16, 2014; Malibu, CA, USA; Pepperdine Waves forward

(5) posts up Gonzaga Bulldogs center

(35) as guard

(3) also defends in the first half at Firestone Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Fielding-USA TODAY Sports

Pepperdine was able to complete a sweep of their cross-town rivals LMU with a 72-69 victory over the Lions tonight.

Despite holding a 12 point lead with a little under six minutes and 30 seconds to play, the Waves allowed LMU to come roaring back and cut the lead to one with 26 seconds left. Pepperdine ended up making their free throws and subsequently defeating the Lions by three points.

Pepperdine was led by Stacy Davis, who had a monster game off the bench. The sophomore forward scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, recording his sixth double-double of the season. Malcolm Brooks and Malte Kramer both also scored in double-figures, scoring 15 and 12 points respectively. Starting guards Amadi Udenyi and Jeremy Major combined to score 0 points on 0-5 shooting on the night. Despite the two player’s trouble scoring, the Waves were still able to pull out the victory.

Major’s eight assists were enough to lead the Waves tonight, despite his scoring troubles.

The Lions were led by senior point guard Anthony Ireland, who had a hot shooting night going 11-17 from the field and scoring 27 points. Freshman guard Evan Payne chipped in 16 points on the evening. Alex Osborne was 1 point and 1 rebound away from recording a double-double. Ireland’s 4 assists led the Lions.

Keys to the Game Checklist

Pepperdine

(X) Balanced Scoring:

Stacy Davis and Malcolm Brooks handled most of the scoring load for the Waves tonight, giving them an X in this key. However, Davis and Brooks were so effective that the Waves did not need Major or Udenyi to score a single point to get the victory.

LMU

(Check minus) Frontcourt Players Must Step Up:

Alex Osborne had a solid game for the Lions tonight and Gabe Levin did not play poorly either with 9 points. Otherwise, not much came from the Lions bigs tonight, but based on how they have played this season it was a positive sign.

Moving Forward

Pepperdine improves to 8-8 in conference play while the Lions fall to 3-13. Both teams are off on Saturday, and will host the bay area schools in the last week of WCC action.