LAS VEGAS – Using a 26-0 opening sprint that snowballed into a 39-2 run in the first half, the Pepperdine men's basketball team showed no regard for human life in a record-setting 102-43 drubbing of Pacific in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference tournament opening round Thursday afternoon.
At the half, the Waves led 56-9– an NCAA Division I season low for points in the first half– in route to their 59-point win, which now stands as the largest scoring margin in the conference tournament since 2000.
Pepperdine (13-19) will take on the likes of San Diego tomorrow evening at a 6 p.m. tip time. The teams split the regular season, with the Waves taking the contest in the Jenny Craig Pavilion 83-77 and the Toreros stealing a 69-67 win in Malibu.
BIG WAVES
- Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) led the Waves with a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double as well as three assists and a block.
- Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) recorded his 16th double-double of the season on 21 points and 17 rebounds to move into sole possession of third place on the Pepperdine single-season leaderboard.
- Malik Moore (Venture, Calif./Heritage Christian HS) scored 15 points on 6-of-8 field goal and 3-of-4 from long range while collecting four rebounds, four assists and a steal.
- Cord Stansberry (Bermuda Dunes, Calif./Shadow Hills HS) tacked on 10 points and four boards with three assists two steals.
KEY STATS
- Pepperdine shot an impressive 60% from the field compared to the Tigers' 25%.
- The Waves controlled the ball well, only committing 11 turnovers to Pacific's 16 while almost doubling up on rebounds over the Tigers at a count of 50-26 and accrued 28 assists to Pacific's 10.
- Pepperdine ruled the paint all afternoon, scoring 50 points from inside while earning 25 points off of Tiger mistakes.
PLAY BY PLAY
From the get-go, everything went Pepperdine's way. The Waves bolted out to a 26-0 run in the first seven minutes thanks to going 10-for-12 from the field and getting contributions from all five starters.
Michael Ajayi hit a three on Pepperdine's first possession, then
Malik Moore and
Jevon Porter chipped in to give Pepperdine a 12-point lead in the first four minutes.
Nils Cooper skied in for a dunk, then
Ethan Anderson and Ajayi hit midrange shots to put the Waves up 18-0 before the first media timeout.
Even a timeout couldn't stop the Waves. With 14 minutes and 12 seconds to go in the half, Porter's second three of the afternoon gave Pepperdine a 20-point cushion it would not relinquish. By the time Moore capped off the 26-0 start with a 5-0 run of his own, Pacific had gone 0-for-8 from the field and committed five turnovers.
The Tigers did get on the board with 12 minutes and 55 seconds to go, only for Porter to reach double-figures on the next possession. This sparked a 13-0 run that essentially sealed the game for the Waves. Freshman
Cord Stansberry got in on the action late with an alley-oop from Anderson, then Anderson gave the Waves a 37-point lead when he split a pair of free throws.
Two Porter free throws with 3 minutes and 16 seconds left pushed the Waves' lead to 40, marking the largest lead Pepperdine has had in a single game this season. When the dust settled on Pepperdine's first half, the Waves pulled off a 39-2 run, held Pacific to 3-for-28 (10.7%) shooting in the first half and led by 47 points at halftime.
Although Pacific fared better in the second half, Pepperdine extended its lead to 50 points after Cooper's layup with 17 minutes and 12 seconds left capped off a 6-0 run. From that point forward, the Tigers only got within 50 points on three occasions, as Pepperdine maintained its insurmountable lead thanks to double-digit halves from Ajayi (10 points) and Porter (14 points).
In the waning moments of the blowout win, reserves
John Squire and
Paul Jordan sparked a game-ending 11-0 run in the final three minutes, which was capped off by six-straight points from redshirt freshman
David Mager to make it a 102-42 game – Pepperdine's largest lead of the night.
