Jan. 25, 2007
Malibu, Calif. -
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A LOOK AT THE WAVES: After earning its first conference win of the season last weekend, the Pepperdine men's basketball team continues play on the road when it travels to the Bay Area to take West Coast Conference (WCC) co-leaders Saint Mary's and Santa Clara.
The Waves will visit the Gaels in Moraga for a 7 p.m. contest at McKeon Pavilion on Saturday before traveling down the South Bay to take on the Broncos at the Leavey Center for an 8 p.m. contest on Monday that will be televised live by ESPNU.
Both Saint Mary's and Santa Clara enter the weekend tied with Gonzaga for first place in the WCC with a 4-1 mark.
Pepperdine is currently 5-16 overall and 1-4 in WCC after registering its first conference win of the season at Loyola Marymount. The 57-55 victory snapped a season-high six-game losing streak and senior guard Marvin Lea paced the Waves with 14 points.
MEDIA COVERAGE: The Pepperdine-Saint Mary's game 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).
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT RECAP: Senior guard Marvin Lea scored 14 points and Gregg Barlow added 13 to help Pepperdine end a season-high six-game losing streak with a 57-55 victory over Loyola Marymount Saturday night at Gersten Pavilion. The Waves won their 17th game in their last 19 meetings against the Lions while also ending a 12-game WCC losing streak and registering their first conference road win since a 97-93 overtime victory at Santa Clara in 1995. The victory was Pepperdine's first over a WCC opponent since beating Loyola Marymount, 70-62, in Malibu last year. The Waves, who built a 14-point second-half lead, withstood a 20-8 run by the Lions that cut the deficit to two points and held off a last-second shot by LMU that would have sent the game into overtime. Damian Martin stole the ball and made a layup with 1:11 to go, and an Adoyah Miller three-pointer cut the Pepperdine lead to two, 57-55. Martin's 10-footer in the closing seconds went long, and Pepperdine's Jarrad Henry grabbed the rebound as time expired, sending Loyola Marymount to its eighth straight loss. Senior guard Chase Griffin scored seven of his 10 points in the first half, and Willie Galick scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Pepperdine. Miller led Loyola Marymount with 14 points, and Matthew Knight had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Waves held a 29-20 halftime lead, just their fifth lead at intermission this year, and improved their record to 4-1 when ahead at the break.
ABOUT SAINT MARY'S: Saint Mary's enters Saturday's contest with a 12-9 overall record and is tied with Gonzaga and Santa Clara atop the WCC standings with a 4-1 mark. The Gaels have won four in a row and are coming off an 85-78 victory at San Diego on Saturday. Saint Mary's is averaging 71.5 points while allowing 66.7 points a contest. The Gaels have three players scoring in double figures and are led by sophomore forward Diamon Simpson, who is averaging 14.4 points a contest. Simpson also has won back-to-back WCC Player of the Week honors. Head coach Randy Bennett, a former Pepperdine assistant, is in the midst of his sixth season at Saint Mary's and has compiled an overall record to date of 97-77 (.557).
SERIES VERSUS SAINT MARY'S: Saturday's game will mark the 115th meeting between Pepperdine and Saint Mary's and the Waves lead the all-time series, 68-46. The Gaels have won the last six meetings between the two programs, including both contests a year ago. Saint Mary's defeated Pepperdine 83-61 in Malibu and recorded a 76-66 win at McKeon Pavilion. The current six-game winning streak by the Gaels is their longest over the Waves since posting six straight victories between 1958 and 1961.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA: Santa Clara begins this weekend with a 14-6 overall record and is tied with Gonzaga and Saint Mary's atop the WCC standings with a 4-1 mark. The Broncos have posted three straight wins and are coming off a 61-58 victory at San Francisco on Saturday. Santa Clara is averaging 66.3 points a contest while allowing 61.5 points a game. The Broncos have two players scoring in double figures and are led by senior forward Sean Denison who is averaging 10.8 points a game. Head coach Dick Davey, the dean of WCC coaches, is in the midst of his 15th season at Santa Clara and has compiled an overall record to date of 244-186 (.567).
SERIES VERSUS SANTA CLARA: Monday's game between Pepperdine and Santa Clara will mark the 83rd meeting between the two programs and the Broncos lead the all-time series, 62-50. The two teams split their meetings last year as the Waves registered a 65-45 victory at Firestone Fieldhouse and Santa Clara posted a 62-56 home win at the Leavey Center.
NEXT OPPONENT: Following this weekend's action, Pepperdine returns home to host Gonzaga and Portland at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves will host Gonzaga on Saturday, February 3, as part of Homecoming Weekend, and will welcome Portland to Malibu on Monday, February 5. The Bulldogs and Pilots are on the road this weekend taking on San Diego and San Francisco.
WAVES LOOK TO IMPROVE IN WCC: After suffering through a 3-11 record and first eighth-place finish since the 1995-96 season a year ago, Pepperdine will be looking to improve its fortunes in 2007. The Waves haven't finished eighth in back-to-back seasons since the 1956 and 1957 seasons, their first two as members of the WCC. Since the 1997-98 campaign, Pepperdine has finished first or second in six of the last nine seasons.
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 innovative 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 (581) and three-point field goals made (213). San Diego is second with 371 three-point attempts while San Francisco is second with 135 made three-pointers. 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 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 on November 14. 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 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 SIXTH IN NATION IN THREE-POINTERS: Pepperdine enters the week sixth in the country in three point field goals made per game with 10.1. Virginia Military Institute leads the nation with 15.0 three-pointers a contest.
PEPPERDINE 31ST IN SCORING OFFENSE: Pepperdine, which is currently second in the West Coast Conference in scoring, is 31st nationally with 78.1 points a game. Virginia Military Institute is the country's top-scoring team, averaging 102.5 points a game. Gonzaga is averaging 79.7 points a contest to lead the WCC.
SCORING DOWN IN WCC PLAY: After averaging 82.8 points a game through its first 16 non-conference games, Pepperdine is scoring just 63.2 points a contest in WCC play. In non-conference play, the Waves connected on 44.6 percent of their field goal attempts and through five conference games, Pepperdine is making just 38.0 percent of its field goal attempts.
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 EIGHTH IN CAREER BLOCKS: Junior center Jarrad Henry, who has totaled a single-season high 51 blocked shots this season, is ninth on Pepperdine's all-time career blocked shots list. He has 97 blocked shots for his career and is one shy of tying Orlando Phillips (1981-83) for seventh place. Henry has averaged 1.3 blocked shots a game for his career and is fifth on the program's career blocked shots per game list. His 51 blocked shots this yearplace him sixth on the program's single-season blocked shots list. He is seven blocked shots shy of tying Victor Anger (1983-84) for fifth place.
COSTAIN NO. 8 IN THREE-POINTERS MADE: Junior guard Kingsley Costain currently ranks No. 8 on Pepperdine's all-time career three-pointers made with 122. He is one shy of tying Shan Ferch (1987-90) for seventh place. Ferch finished his career with 123 made three-pointers. Costain also ranks seventh on the program's career attempts list with 301 and is fifth in three-point field goal percentage (40.5).
FORCING TURNOVERS: Pepperdine, which has forced a West Coast Conference (WCC)-high 428 turnovers, is forcing 20.4 turnovers a game to lead the WCC and has a league-best turnover margin of +3.62. The Waves also are leading the conference with 9.2 steals (194) per game.
LEA, GRIFFIN RANK IN TOP 5 IN WCC IN SCORING: Senior guards Marvin Lea and Chase Griffin currently rank among the West Coast Conference's top scorers. Lea, who is averaging 16.5 points a contest, is third, while Griffin is fifth with 15.7 points a game. Gonzaga's Derek Ravio (19.2) tops the WCC while Loyola Marymount's Matthew Knight (17.1) is second.
COSTAIN SECOND IN MADE 3-POINTERS: Junior guard Kingsley Costain is second in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with 56 made three-pointers (2.7 a game) and is third in three-point field goal percentage with a 42.4 percent mark. Gonzaga's Derek Ravio (3.1) leads the conference in made three-pointers per game while San Francisco's Danny Cavic tops the WCC with 52.9 three-point field goal percentage.
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 79-51 (.608), trailing only Gonzaga, which has posted a 117-18 (.867) 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 5-16 (.312) 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 1089-849 (.562). 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 502-385 (.566), including a 254-130 (.661) 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 84-34 (.712) at home. Pepperdine's all-time homecourt record at Firestone Fieldhouse, dating back to the start of the 1973-74 campaign, currently stands at 322-122 (.725). Pepperdine concluded 2005-06 with a 6-6 home record. The Waves are 1-6 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 89-120 (.426), including a 27-26 mark (.509) in neutral court contests. Pepperdine is 4-10 on the road, including 2-1 in neutral court games, during the 2006-07 season.
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