Nov. 17, 2006
Malibu, Calif. -
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GAME 4
Pepperdine (1-2) AT Cal State Northridge (3-1); The Matadome; 2:00 P.M.
Saturday, November 18, 2006; Northridge, California
TV:None • Internet: WWW.PepperdineSports.Com
A LOOK AT THE WAVES: Following a record-breaking performance in picking up its first win of the season earlier this week, the Pepperdine men's basketball team returns to Southern California to close out a four-game season-opening road trip when it visits Cal State Northridge at The Matadome Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Waves are currently 1-2 on the young season after competing in the Basketball Travelers Classic in Seattle, Washington. Pepperdine fell to No. 16 Washington (99-91) and Northern Iowa (83-58) before defeating Nicholls State, 98-83, on Tuesday. In the Waves' win over the Colonels, Pepperdine established single-season school records for most three-point field goals (21), three-point attempts (43) and three-point field goals made in a half (12).
The victory marked the first Division I win for rookie head coach Vance Walberg, who took over the reigns of the Pepperdine program after a successful four-year stint as head coach at Fresno City College.
Following Saturday's contest against Cal State Northridge, Pepperdine returns home to Firestone Fieldhouse for its 2006-07 home opener against UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m.
The Pepperdine-Cal State Northridge game marks the first of three straight games against Big West opponents. The Waves play a total of five games against Big West schools.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Saturday's Pepperdine-Cal State Northridge can be heard live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com.
Every men's basketball game throughout the 2006-07 season can be heard live on the Internet at www.PepperdineSports.com with veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein calling the action.
WALBERG ERA BEGINS: The 2006-07 season marks the beginning of the Vance Walberg Era. Walberg takes over as Pepperdine's 12th head coach after being hired on April 19 following four highly successful seasons at Fresno City College. During his tenure there, Walberg guided the Rams to a 133-11 (.924) record and won the California State Junior College Championship in 2005 after posting a 34-0 record. In 26 seasons as a junior college and high school coach, Walberg has compiled an overall record of 614-170 (.783).
ABOUT CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Cal State Northridge enters Saturday's contest against Pepperdine with a 3-1 record. The Matadors have won two in a row and turned in a record-breaking performance during a 159-97 victory over Redlands on Wednesday. Cal State Northridge established school single-game records for most points (159), most points by two teams (256), field goals made (62) and assists (43). The Matadors have four players averaging in double figures and are led by junior guard/forward Jonathan Heard, who tops the club with 13.8 points and 6.8 rebounds a contest. Cal State Northridge is averaging 99.0 points a game while allowing 78.5 points a contest. Head coach Bobby Braswell is in the midst of his 11th season leading the Matadors and has compiled an overall record to date of 157-141 (.527).
SERIES VERSUS CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Saturday's game between Pepperdine and Cal State Northridge will mark the 12th meeting between the two programs, with the Waves leading the all-time series, 8-3. The two teams last met a year ago and Pepperdine recorded an 87-72 victory at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves last played at The Matadome in 1997 and suffered an 81-66 setback to the Matadors.
BASKETBALL TRAVELERS RECAP: Pepperdine opened its season at the Basketball Travelers Classic in Seattle, Washington and went 1-2. The Waves opened with a 99-91 loss to No. 17 Washington on Sunday, fell 83-58 to Northern Iowa on Monday and concluded play with a 98-83 victory over Nicholls State on Tuesday. The Waves averaged 82.3 points a game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and allowed 88.3 points a contest. Senior guard Marvin Lea opened his final campaign in impressive fashion as he was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 20.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in three games. After establishing a new career-high with 16 points against Washington, Lea followed up with 22 points in each of the next two contests. Three other Waves players averaged in double figures during the tournament as senior guards Jason Walberg and Chase Griffin averaged 12.7 and 11.7 points, respectively. Junior guard Kingsley Costain also contributed 12.0 points a game.
EXHIBITION GAMES: Pepperdine concluded exhibition play with a 2-0 record after defeating NAIA opponents Cal Baptist (110-102 OT) and Fresno Pacific (103-91). In their two exhibition games, the Waves averaged 106.5 points a contest and connected on 48.3 percent of their 151 field goal attempts (73 of 151). Despite being out-rebounded by an average of 4.5 a game, the Waves had a plus-3.5 advantage in the turnover category. Senior guard Marvin Lea paced Pepperdine in exhibition play as he averaged 19.0 points and 6.5 rebounds a game.
INJURY REPORT: Sophomore guard Michael Gerrity, who finished second on the team in scoring a year ago with 14.1 points a contest and was named to the West Coast Conference's (WCC) All-Freshman team, is currently out. Gerrity has a left foot injury and is hopeful of returning in two weeks.
2005-06 REVIEW: Pepperdine concluded the 2005-06 season with a 7-20 overall record and finished eighth in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with a 3-11 mark. The Waves were led by senior forward Tashaan Forehan-Kelly who averaged a team-leading 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds a game en route to earning honorable mention All-WCC recognition. Guard Michael Gerrity put together an impressive rookie campaign as he finished second on the team with 14.1 points a contest and topped the club with 3.4 assists an outing. Gerrity was named to the conference's all-freshman team and was tabbed the WCC's "Freshman of the Year" by CBSSportsline.com.
RAINING THREE'S: Each night out this season, there will be a good chance the Pepperdine record book will be re-written. In just three games this season, the Waves already have set new marks for three-point field goal attempts. One night after taking a school-record 36 three-point field goal attempts against Northern Iowa, Pepperdine broke that mark with 43 against Nicholls State. The Waves also made a program-best 21 three-pointers against Nicholls State to eclipse the previous mark of 17 set against Santa Clara on February 23, 2002. Pepperdine also set a new mark for most three-point field goals in one half with 12. The Waves' 21 three-pointers also tie for the second-most in West Coast Conference history. Gonzaga made 22 from behind the arc against San Francisco in 1995 to hold the WCC mark. The Waves are tied with Loyola Marymount, which made 21 against Michigan in the 1990 NCAA Tournament.
WAVES ENTER NCAA RECORD BOOKS: Pepperdine's school-record 21 three-point field goals against Nicholls State tie for the sixth-highest total in NCAA History. Troy holds the record of three-point field goals made when it totaled 28 (28 of 74) against George Mason on Dec. 10, 1994. A team has made at least 21 three-point field goals in a game a total of 21 times.
WAVES VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: Pepperdine finished 0-3 against ranked opponents during the 2005-06 season. The Waves will face two teams (Washington and Connecticut) that were ranked in the national preseason Top 25. Washington opened the year ranked No. 16 while Connecticut was No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Preseason poll. West Coast Conference (WCC) rival Gonzaga was among teams receiving votes. Pepperdine is currently 0-1 against ranked opponents in 2006-07.
ROSTER MAKEOVER: In addition to an entire new coaching staff, Pepperdine has seven newcomers on its roster. Freshman forward Blake Wallace (Yorba Linda, CA / Servite HS) is the lone recruit new to the team while transfers Michael Hornbuckle (Westlake Village, CA / Asuza Pacific), Rico Tucker (San Diego, CA / Minnesota) and Jason Walberg (Fresno, CA / Saint Mary's) are four-year transfers. Hornbuckle and Tucker will redshirt this season while Walberg will be able to play immediately after earning his degree from Saint Mary's. Walk-ons to the team include Tyler Carr (Thousand Oaks, CA / Moorpark College), Shawn Cox (Kneeland, CA / Arcata HS) and Vuk Vojinovic (Santa Monica, CA / Montclair Prep).
KEEP YOUR BAGS PACKED: The Pepperdine men's basketball team will need to keep a suitcase handy as it plays 11 of 16 non-conference games on the road, including eight of its first nine. The Waves twice have stretches where they play four consecutive road games, including at the outset of the season when they play three contests in the Basketball Travelers Classic in Seattle, Washington and a game at Cal State Northridge on November 18. Pepperdine doesn't play its first home game until November 21 when it welcomes UC Santa Barbara to Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves will look to turn around their road fortunes this year after going just 1-14 away from Firestone Fieldhouse in 2005-06.
HAVE A CALCULATOR HANDY: Scoreboard operators are expected to be busy during Pepperdine games this season. First-year head coach Vance Walberg brings to Malibu a high-octane offense that has a reputation of regularly averaging 100 or more points a game. During four years at Fresno City College, Walberg's teams averaged 103.5 points a contest, including 107.6 points a game during the 2003-04 season.
FORMER WAVE Yakhouba Diawara MAKES DENVER ROSTER: Former Pepperdine men's basketball player Yakhouba Diawara, who played for the Waves from 2003 to 2005, became an official member of the Denver Nuggets' when the team's 15-man roster was announced on Tuesday. During his two seasons at Pepperdine, Diawara appeared in 45 games, starting 40, and averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. He had an- outstanding junior campaign as he played in 14 games and averaged 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds a contest en route to earning All-West Coast Conference (WCC) honors. A native of Paris, France, Diawara played in eight preseason games for the Nuggets and averaged 6.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists a contest while averaging 24 minutes a contest. Diawara made his NBA debut November 2 and scored his first career points against Minnesota on November 3.
PEPPERDINE AND THE WCC: Dating back to the 1997-98 season, Pepperdine has the West Coast Conference's (WCC) second-best record in league play. The Waves have compiled an overall record to date of 78-47 (.624), trailing only Gonzaga, which has posted a 113-16 (.876) record during the same time. Since 1998, Gonzaga and Pepperdine have either won or shared every WCC regular-season title. The Bulldogs claimed outright titles in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, while the Waves captured the 2000 regular season crown. The two teams shared the title in 2002.
Vance Walberg: Vance Walberg, the former head coach of Fresno City College, became the 12th head coach in Pepperdine history when he was named to succeed Paul Westphal on April 18. He made his Pepperdine coaching debut on November 12 at Washington and the Waves suffered a 99-91 to the Huskies. He is currently 1-2 (.333) at Pepperdine. During his four seasons as head coach at Fresno City College, Walberg compiled a 133-11 (.924) record, including a perfect 34-0 mark and the California State Championship in 2005. In addition to posting an undefeated season and winning the 2005 state championship, Walberg's Fresno City College teams won four straight Central Valley Conference (CVC) titles, made four consecutive trips to the Northern California Playoffs, advanced to the Final Four of the California State Championships three times and appeared in the state title game in 2003 and 2005. His teams were noted for an up-tempo style of play and during his four years in Fresno, the Rams averaged 103.5 points a contest, 107.6 points during the 2003-04 season. Walberg was twice named California Junior College Coach of the Year (2003, 2005) and was tabbed the CVC Coach of the Year four times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). Prior to taking over at Fresno City College, Walberg spent 22 years as a high school coach and compiled an impressive 481-159 (.751) record. His greatest success came at Clovis West High in Fresno, California, where he produced a 343-68 (.834) record in 13 seasons, winning 11 league titles and finishing second on two other occasions. Walberg earned league Coach of the Year honors nine times, Section Coach of the Year on six occasions and was tabbed the California and West Region (Section 7) Coach of the Year in 1999. In 2001, he was selected the Cal-Hi State Coach of the Year. In 26 seasons as a head coach, Walberg has a career record of 614-170 (.783). A 1978 graduate of Cal State Bakersfield, Walberg was twice named the Defensive Player of the Year and served as team captain his senior year. In two seasons at De Anza Community College, he won a conference championship and concluded his career as the school's all-time steals leader. Walberg, a 1974 graduate of Monta Vista High in Cupertino, California, was a two-year varsity letterwinner during which he was named Co-Most Valuable Player and team MVP. He helped the Matadors to a league championship.
THE PROGRAM: In the midst of its 69th season of intercollegiate competition, the Pepperdine men's basketball program has compiled an overall record to date of 1085-836 (.565). A total of 22 Pepperdine teams have posted 20-plus win campaigns. The Waves have won 19 or more games eight times in the last 15 campaigns. Pepperdine made its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001-02, and the Waves have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) a total of eight times, including the Preseason NIT in 1985 and 2000. Since the start of the 1979-80 campaign, Pepperdine teams have compiled an overall record of 498-372 (.572), including a 253-127 (.666) mark in regular season West Coast Conference (WCC) play. Since the 1980-81 season, Pepperdine teams have either won or shared the WCC regular season title on 10 occasions-1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000 and 2002-and the program has won 12 basketball championships overall. Additionally, the Waves have captured the WCC Tournament championship three times-1991, 1992 and 1994.
WAVES AT HOME: Dating back to the start of the 1997-98 campaign, the Waves are 83-28 (.748) at home. Pepperdine's all-time homecourt record at Firestone Fieldhouse, dating back to the start of the 1973-74 campaign, currently stands at 321-117 (.733). The Waves finished the 2004-05 season with a 9-3 home mark. Pepperdine concluded 2005-06 with a 6-6 home record.
WAVES ON THE ROAD: Pepperdine concluded the 2005-06 campaign with a 1-14 road record. Since the 1995-96 season, the Waves are 86-113 (.432), including a 26-26 mark (.500) in neutral court contests. Pepperdine 1-2 on the road, including 1-1 in neutral court games, during the 2006-07 season.
ON THE WEB: For all of the latest news, results and schedule information concerning Pepperdine Athletics go to http://www.PepperdineSports.com.
