Pepperdine University
San Francisco
Men's Hoops Downs USF, 94-88
1/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2011
Pepperdine-San Francisco Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. -- A 61-point second half helped the Pepperdine men's basketball team end the first half of the West Coast Conference season on a high point as the Waves knocked off San Francisco, 94-88, on Saturday night in Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine improved to 9-15 overall and 3-4 in the WCC as head coach Tom Asbury collected his 150th victory with the Waves. USF (11-11, 5-2) missed out on a chance to move into a first-place tie atop the WCC standings.
Junior guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) led five Waves that reached double-figures with 23 points and he also had four rebounds and four assists. Senior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Santa Margarita Catholic HS/Stoneridge Prep) contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Junior guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) came off the bench and scored 18 points in just 13 minutes.
Sophomore guard Joshua Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) established new career highs of 15 points, seven assists, three steals and 32 minutes played while junior forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) posted 11 points.
As a team, the Waves set season highs for points, second-half points, field-goal percentage (54.7%) and assists (21) and tied their season highs for free throws made (29) and steals (nine).
"We did the important things to win this game," Asbury said. "It was a good win for us. We embarrassed ourselves the other night (a loss to Santa Clara on Thursday). Tonight we played harder and smarter. We just played better all-around."
There were 14 lead changes in the first half, with neither team establishing a lead larger than four points. The final lead change came on a three-pointer by Lowery with a little more than a minute to go, which sent Pepperdine into halftime with a 33-31 advantage.
Two baskets by Jackson and two free throws by Lowery gave the Waves a 6-0 run to start the second half, and they never trailed after intermission. The Waves hit 16 of 22 second-half shots.
One amazing statistic was the amount of free throws per half for both teams. USF didn't shoot a foul shot in the first half and went 14-for-24 in the second half. Pepperdine went 2-for-2 in the first half and 27-for-36 in the second. There were 10 fouls called in the first half, 39 in the second.
The Waves took their largest lead of 14 points several times in the second half. Bell had seven points during a 9-2 run that gave Pepperdine a 61-47 lead with 10 1/2 minutes to play. The Waves also led 81-67 with a little less than two minutes left thanks to a 6-0 run.
USF's top performers were Moustapha Diarra (a career-high 26 points on 11-for-14 shooting), Rashad Green (a career-high-tying 21 points and a near triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists) and Marko Petrovic (a career-high 18 points).
At halftime, a moving tribute to former head coach Gary Colson was held. Many former players gathered to honor their coach and presented him with gifts. Former SID Bob Rose spoke about Colson's career, good friend Jerry West said a few words and Colson spoke briefly to the crowd.
The Waves play five of their final seven games on the road, beginning with contests at Saint Mary's (Thursday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m.) and San Diego (Saturday, Feb. 5, 6 p.m.) next week. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's broadcasts for free via Wave Casts and join an interactive live game blog at www.pepperdinesports.com.
