Dec. 23, 2006
Malibu, Calif. -
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A LOOK AT THE WAVES: After a week off to celebrate Christmas, the Pepperdine men's basketball team resumes its schedule next week when it travels to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take part in the Comcast Lobo Invitational. The Waves open play on Thursday against Binghamton at the Pit beginning at 7:15 p.m. (PST).
Host New Mexico and Alcorn State will open the tournament with a 5 p.m. (PST) contest. The tournament concludes on Friday with the consolation and championship games at times To Be Determined.
Pepperdine enters the tournament with a 3-10 record after suffering an 88-66 loss at No. 11 Connecticut on December 20. Sophomore guard Tomas Pranciliauskas scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Waves.
MEDIA COVERAGE: The Comcast Lobo Invitational 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).
CONNECTICUT RECAP: A.J. Price had 17 points to lead four Connecticut players in double figures and the 11th-ranked Huskies pulled away in the second half to beat Pepperdine 88-66 December 20 at the Hartford Civic Center. Freshman center Hasheem Thabeet and sophomore forward Jeff Adrien didn't miss a shot, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively, as the Huskies dominated inside. Connecticut finished the contest with a 48-28 advantage on the boards. Guard Doug Wiggins added 16 points for the Huskies, who stretched their home winning streak to 29 games. Sophomore guard Tomas Pranciliauskas scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Waves as he connected on six of 10 three-point field goals. While Connecticut controlled the paint, Pepperdine (3-10) stayed outside for much of the game. The Waves hit eight of 15 shots from behind the arc in the first half and finished the game 11 of 27 from three-point range. Junior guard Kingsley Costain had 14 points and senior guard Chase Griffin added 12 for Pepperdine. After falling behind 8-0 to start the game and trailing by as many as 12 points with 4:50 remaining in the first half, closed the opening period with a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 40-36 at halftime. The Waves stayed close throughout much of the second half before Connecticut went on an 11-0 run beginning at the 10-minute mark to take a 71-53 lead with 6:48 remaining.
ABOUT BINGHAMTON: Binghamton enters the Comcast Lobo Invitational with a 6-4 record and has won three straight games, including a 79-74 victory at Miami on December 20. The Bearcats are averaging 69.5 points a game while allowing 71.6 points a contest. Binghamton has two players scoring in double figures and is led by junior guard Richard Forbes, who is averaging 15.7 points a game. Head coach Al Walker is in the midst of his seventh season at Binghamton and has compiled an overall record to date of 85-96 (.470).
SERIES VERSUS BINGHAMTON: Thursday's game marks the first-ever meeting between Binghamton and Pepperdine.
ABOUT ALCORN STATE: Alcorn State opens play in the Comcast Lobo Invitational with a 1-8 record and is coming off its first win of the year after posting a 98-83 victory over Paul Quinn College December 9. The Braves are averaging 64.0 points a game while allowing 83.2 a contest. Junior guard Delvin Thompson is Alcorn's State's only player scoring in double figures as he is averaging 16.5 points a game. Head coach Samuel West is in the midst of his fourth season leading the Braves and has compiled an overall record to date of 27-68 (.284).
SERIES VERSUS ALCORN STATE: Alcorn State and Pepperdine have never met in men's basketball.
ABOUT NEW MEXICO: New Mexico is currently 9-2 on the season and play Kansas State on Saturday before hosting the Comcast Lobo Invitational. The Lobos are averaging 81.2 points a game while allowing 70.0 points a contest. New Mexico has won four in a row entering Saturday's game. The Lobos have two players scoring in double figures and is led by junior guard J.R. Giddens, who is averaging 18.0 points a game. Head coach Ritchie McKay is in the midst of his fifth season at New Mexico and has compiled an overall record to date of 76-54 (.585).
SERIES VERSUS NEW MEXICO: New Mexico and Pepperdine have met six previous times and the Lobos lead the all-time series, 4-2. The two programs last met during 2002-03 season and the Waves registered an 88-68 victory in the championship game of the Lobo Invitational.
WAVES CAPTURE 2002 LOBO INVITATIONAL: Pepperdine last played in the Comcast Lobo Invitational in 2002 and captured the tournament title. The Waves opened play with a 116-110 double-overtime victory over Arkansas-Little Rock before posting an 88-68 win over the host Lobos in the championship game.
NEXT OPPONENT: Pepperdine wraps-up non-conference play on January 2 when it hosts Manhattan at Firestone Fieldhouse beginning at 5 p.m. The Jaspers are currently 3-7 on the season and play at Long Beach State on December 30 before visiting Malibu.
INJURY REPORT: Senior guard Jason Walberg is lost for the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury during practice on November 24. Walberg played in five games and averaged 14.0 points and 2.4 rebounds a contest.
WALBERG THE INNOVATOR: First-year head coach Vance Walberg was named one of college basketball's most innovative coaches, according to SI.com's Grant Wahl. "The first-year Waves coach is from Cupertino, Calif., the birthplace of Apple Computers and an apt source for one of the most innovate coaches in today's hoops racket. Walberg's high-speed offensive scheme is called AASAA (Attack, Attack, Skip, Attack, Attack), and he's shared it with legions of coaches from the high school level to the college ranks (including John Calipari at Memphis). What's more, unlike the freakshow-fast attacks at Grinnell and VMI, Walberg wins big. (In his previous job Walberg owned a .924 winning percentage over the past four years at Fresno City College.) Give Walberg some time to assemble the right personnel in Malibu, and I expect he'll make things even more interesting in the West Coast Conference." Other coaches on the list included Bob Knight (Texas Tech), Roy Williams (North Carolina), John Beilein (West Virginia), Mike Anderson (Missouri) and Bo Ryan (Wisconsin).
LEA POSTS CAREER NIGHT: Senior guard Marvin Lea turned in a career night Thursday against Long Beach State as he scored a career-high 34 points. The senior guard also contributed four rebounds, three assists and two steals in Pepperdine's 95-90 loss to the 49ers. Lea's 34-point output was the most by a Waves player since Tashaan Forehan-Kelly scored 35 against Loyola Marymount last January. It also marked the most points scored by West Coast Conference (WCC) player this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 32 scored by Loyola Marymount's Brandon Worthy against Pacific on November 24.
RAINING THREE'S: Pepperdine leads the West Coast Conference (WCC) in three-point field goal attempts (371) and three-point field goals made (144). San Diego is second with 235 attempts while Gonzaga is second in made three-pointers with 84. Pepperdine already has surpassed last season's total of 124 made three-pointers. The Pepperdine single-season record for made three-pointers is 237 set during the 1999-2000 season. The Waves already have set new marks for three-point field goal attempts in a game. 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.
PEPPERDINE FIFTH IN NATION IN THREE-POINTERS: Pepperdine began the week ranked fifth in the country in three point field goals made. The Waves have totaled 144 and are averaging 11.1 made three-pointers per game. Virginia Military Institute leads the nation with 14.7 three-pointers a contest.
WAVES ENTER NCAA RECORD BOOKS: Pepperdine's school-record 21 three-point field goals against Nicholls State on November 14 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.
HENRY NEARING CAREER TOP 10 FOR BLOCKS: Junior center Jarrad Henry, who has totaled 20 blocked shots in his last seven games, is nearing Pepperdine's Top 10 for career blocked shots. Through 13 games this year, Henry has recorded 32 blocked shots to bring his career total to 78. He is two blocked shots shy of tying Kelvin Gibbs (1997-2001) and Gavin Van Der Putten (1992-96) for 10th place all-time who totaled 80. Henry has averaged 1.2 blocked shots a game for his career and currently ties for seventh on the program's career blocked shots per game list.
WAVES TOP WCC IN SCORING: Pepperdine currently leads the West Coast Conference (WCC) in scoring with an 80.8 points-per-game average. Gonzaga is averaging 79.5 points a contest to rank second. The Waves are 24th in the country in scoring.
FORCING TURNOVERS: Pepperdine, which has forced a West Coast Conference (WCC)-high 273 turnovers, is forcing 21.0 turnovers a game to lead the WCC and has a league-best turnover margin of +4.2. The Waves are also leading the conference with 9.3 steals (121) per game.
LEA RANKS THIRD IN WCC IN SCORING: Senior guard Marvin Lea entered the weekend third in the WCC in scoring with 17.9 points a game. He trails Gonzaga's Derek Ravio (19.0) and Loyola Marymount's Brandon Worthy (18.5). Lea, who has prospered in head coach Vance Walberg's system, entered his senior season with a career scoring average of 3.3 points a game.
COSTAIN WCC'S TOP THREE-POINT MARKMAN: Junior guard Kingsley Costain is connecting on 50.0 percent (38-76) of his three-point field goal attempts to lead the WCC. He is second in three-pointers made, trailing Gonzaga's Derek Ravio, who has made 40 from behind the arc.
WAVES VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: Pepperdine finished 0-3 against ranked opponents during the 2005-06 season. The 2006-07 schedule includes four teams that are currently in the Top 25 nationally. Pepperdine, which is 0-3 against ranked opponents thus far, opened the year at No. 16 Washington and suffered a 99-91 loss in Seattle. The Waves fell 90-74 at Oklahoma State on December 2. The Cowboys entered this week's rankings at No. 14. Pepperdine is coming off an 88-66 to No. 11 Connecticut on December 20 and will play a pair of games against West Coast Conference (WCC) rival Gonzaga, which is No. 22.
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.
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 3-10 (.231) 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 1087-844 (.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 500-380 (.568), 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 84-31 (.730) at home. Pepperdine's all-time homecourt record at Firestone Fieldhouse, dating back to the start of the 1973-74 campaign, currently stands at 322-120 (.728). Pepperdine concluded 2005-06 with a 6-6 home record. The Waves are 1-3 at home this season.
WAVES ON THE ROAD: Pepperdine concluded the 2005-06 campaign with a 1-14 road record. Since the 1995-96 season, the Waves are 87-117 (.426), including a 26-26 mark (.500) in neutral court contests. Pepperdine is 2-7 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.
