Waves End First Half of WCC Play With Loss
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/31/2009
Pepperdine-Santa Clara Box Score
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Between the inside play of John Bryant and the three-point shooting of Santa Clara, the visiting Pepperdine men’s basketball team suffered a 64-52 defeat in a West Coast Conference game on Saturday evening. The Waves (5-18, 2-5) are now in sixth place at the halfway point of the league season. The Broncos (11-13, 3-4) won on their home court for the fourth straight year to take over fifth place.
Coming off a 32-point performance in the win at San Francisco, freshman guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) followed it up with a team-high 12 points. Sophomore forward Mychel Thompson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Stoneridge Prep) scored 10 points and senior guard Ryan Holmes (Phoenix, Ariz./Millennium HS/Phoenix CC) added nine.
But Bryant finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds and the Broncos made 12 three-pointers, five by Kevin Foster (15 points), four by Calvin Johnson (12 points) and three by James Rahon (11 points). Santa Clara finished with a shooting edge of 47.8% to 37.0% from the field.
Pepperdine kept pace with Santa Clara early in the first half, as a jumper by Holmes tied the game at 11-11 with 15:42 to play. But the Broncos’ hot shooting – they made their first seven shots – helped them pull ahead. Foster’s third three-pointer of the half was Santa Clara’s sixth on seven attempts, and it gave the hosts a 27-16 lead with 8:45 to play.
Three-pointers by senior guard Rico Tucker (San Diego, Calif./University HS/Minnesota) and Bell helped Pepperdine cut the deficit to 29-24 with five minutes left, but Santa Clara went into halftime with a 33-26 lead.
After Foster’s fourth three-pointer opened the second half, Holmes scored four straight points to make the score 36-30. Foster then sank his fifth three-pointer, however, and the Waves would get no closer the rest of the way. Santa Clara’s largest lead would come at 57-38 with 8:29 left following a three-point play by Bryant. Sophomore walk-on Gus Clardy (Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacogdoches HS) came off the bench to play a career-high 26 minutes and did an admirable job defensively on the much bigger Bryant. Clardy also had four points and five rebounds.
The Waves committed only 10 turnovers to the Broncos’ 16, but Santa Clara had a 35-26 rebounding edge. Of the 12 players that saw action for the Waves, nine were freshmen or sophomores and seven weren’t on the roster last year. Pepperdine’s coaches wore sneakers rather than their usual dress shoes as part of the annual “Coaches Vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend”.
The Waves begin the second half of WCC play with their third straight road game next Saturday (Feb. 7) at Loyola Marymount. It’s a doubleheader with the women’s game at 4:30 p.m. and the men’s game at 7 p.m. Subscribers to “Wave Casts” at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/?DB_OEM_ID=18500 can listen to Al Epstein’s call of the action.
Santa Clara wins Fourth Straight
The Broncos (11-13, 3-4 WCC) tied a season high with 12 3-pointers.
Jan. 31, 2009
Final Stats
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - For most of Santa Clara's 64-52 win over Pepperdine, the Broncos were in complete control. Leading the charge against the Waves was Bronco big man, John Bryant. The San Pablo native added another milestone to his illustrious career.
Bryant became only the third player in Santa Clara history to amass 1,000 rebounds in a career. He is the 14th player in WCC and the first in the Bay Area since Tim Young of Stanford pulled down 1,000+ in 1999.
"It's an honor but I am not really focused on it," said Bryant. "It's a great honor to be one of the top rebounders in SCU history."
Santa Clara moves to 11-13 and 3-4 in the WCC, while Pepperdine falls to 5-18 and 2-5 in the WCC.
Bryant has 323 total rebounds on the year, and is the national leader. The center added his 17th double-double, second nationally only to Blake Griffin of Oklahoma with 18 double-doubles, by finishing with 19 points, and 17 rebounds.
Calvin Johnson, James Rahon, and Kevin Foster all finished in double figures. Johnson finished the game with 12 points, Rahon with 11 and Foster with 15. The trio combined to make all 12 of the Broncos three point field goals on the night - a season-high for the team.
At halftime Santa Clara led Pepperdine 33-26, and after 13:09 remaining in the second half, the lead was never less than 12. The Waves were led by Keion Bell, and Mychel Thompson, who finished the game with twelve and ten points respectively.
In the first half John Bryant scored 10 points and shot 4-5 from the field to lead the Broncos. Four of Bryant's 10 were on dunks the second of which came at 15:03. Fueled by a 8 -2 run, the Broncos extended their lead to 10 points midway through the second half, and they never looked back. Along with Bryant, Foster shot 3 of 4 from three, and James Rahon added five points on his own.
SOUTHLAND COLLEGE BASKETBALL
February 1, 2009
at Santa Clara 64, Pepperdine 52: The Waves (5-18, 2-5 West Coast Conference) had no answer for 6-foot-11, 275-pound John Bryant, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Broncos (11-3, 3-4).
February 1, 2009
at Santa Clara 64, Pepperdine 52: The Waves (5-18, 2-5 West Coast Conference) had no answer for 6-foot-11, 275-pound John Bryant, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Broncos (11-3, 3-4).
Men's Hoops Plays at Santa Clara on Saturday
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/30/2009
UPCOMING — Following an impressive victory at San Francisco in which Keion Bell scored 32 points, the Pepperdine men’s basketball team completes the first half of West Coast Conference play this Saturday with its contest at Santa Clara. A win would give the Waves sole possession of fifth place at the midway point. It’s the second of three straight road games, with local rival Loyola Marymount to follow next weekend. Underclassmen are dominating the young Pepperdine lineup, as freshmen and sophomores are scoring more than 86% of the points.
GAME #23 — Saturday (Jan. 31) at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif.: Pepperdine (5-17, 2-4) at Santa Clara (10-13, 2-4) at 7 p.m.
ON THE WEB — Subscribers to "Wave Casts" can catch all Pepperdine men’s basketball games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, now in his 24th season with the Waves, is behind the microphone. Non-televised home games will have live audio and video, while road games will be audio only. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts link. An annual pass costs $69.95 and monthly subscriptions are also available. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team’s website when the Waves are on the road.
COACHES VS. CANCER WEEKEND — Tom Asbury and his staff will be wearing sneakers rather than the usual dress shoes with their suits this weekend as part of the annual "Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend." Since 1993, coaches across the country have taken part in this event to help raise the public consciousness about the fight against cancer. All eight WCC coaching staffs are slated to take part.
SANTA CLARA — Pepperdine is 52-64 all-time against Santa Clara. Over the last 10 meetings, the schools are 5-5 against each other. The Waves have won three straight at home but have lost three straight in Santa Clara. Tom Asbury went 8-5 against the Broncos in his first go-round as head coach.
LAST GAME — Keion Bell scored a career-high 32 points on 13-for-14 shooting to lead Pepperdine to its first road victory of the season and a 69-67 win at San Francisco on Thursday (Jan. 29). The Waves led nearly the entire contest and ended a six-game losing streak to USF. Bell hit his first nine shots of the game and sank all four of his three-pointers. Pepperdine built a 16-3 lead early and was ahead 31-30 at halftime. The Dons took a couple of one-point leads midway through the second half, but Bell’s three-point play with 12:33 to go put the Waves ahead to stay at 47-45. Although USF cut into Pepperdine’s lead at the end, the Dons never had a chance to tie the game or take the lead. Ryan Holmes played his best game since returning from a knee injury, getting nine points and five assists in 23 minutes.
MORE ON BELL — Keion Bell’s 32 points were two shy of the Pepperdine freshman single-game record (Tyrone Shelley scored 34 last season) ... His 13-for-14 shooting was one field goal made shy of tying the school record for single-game field-goal percentage (Dana Jones went 14-for-14 in 1991) ... His four steals at USF were the most by a Pepperdine player this season ... Bell is averaging team bests of 12.3 ppg overall and 17.0 ppg in WCC play ... He has scored in double-figures in four straight games and is averaging 20.8 points in that time.
ROTATION — Among the 11 players that got into the game against San Francisco, nine were freshmen or sophomores and seven weren’t on the roster last year ... Lately, Pepperdine has been starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a senior ... Prior to that, the Waves were starting four freshmen and one sophomore for a spell ... The Waves have played five freshmen on the court at one time on an occasional basis.
BAD STARTS — The Waves ended a trend of bad starts when they jumped out to a 16-3 lead at San Francisco. They had been put in a deep hole to start the game in each of the previous four contests, falling behind by double-digits just four to six minutes in each game. The Waves fell behind 9-0 and 13-2 at San Diego, 16-1 and 28-3 at Saint Mary’s, 17-0 vs. Gonzaga and 12-2 vs. Portland.
BETTER FINISHES — The Waves have won the second half in each of the last three games, outscoring Gonzaga (43-38), Portland (35-29) and San Francisco (38-37). In fact, throw out the 17-0 deficit to Gonzaga after six minutes, and the Waves won the next 34 minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs by three. The 29 second-half points by the Pilots were the fewest by a Pepperdine opponent this season. The USF game was only the second time this season where the Waves won both the first and second half.
FRESHMAN SCORING — Last year, freshmen scored 63.6% of Pepperdine’s points. It looks like the new group of freshmen will lead the way in 2008-09 as well. Right now they account for 59.8% of the scoring, compared to 26.5% by the sophomores and 13.7% by the seniors. The two games where freshmen contributed the most (76%) were at Hawaii and vs. Portland.
SEASON NOTABLES — The win over Cal State Monterey Bay gave the Waves their first victory in a season opener since 2001-02 ... Veteran broadcaster Al Epstein called his 700th consecutive Pepperdine men’s basketball broadcast vs. Pacific on Dec. 13 ... The game at Cal State Northridge on Dec. 18 was the 2,000th in program history ... Pepperdine’s 12-game losing streak tied the third-longest in program history and was the longest since the 1965-66 season ... The Waves beat Loyola Marymount in Firestone Fieldhouse for the 11th consecutive time ... Pepperdine won its conference opener (vs. LMU) for the first time since 2005.
SOLES4SOULS — Pepperdine’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, in conjunction with student-fan group Riptide, will be collecting shoes at Firestone Fieldhouse until Feb. 17 for Soles4Souls. Soles4Souls has already successfully donated more than one million pairs of shoes to those hurting both domestically and internationally. Fans can drop off shoes, both new and used, into the Soles4Souls collection box located near the concession stand at Firestone Fieldhouse, or among several additional boxes placed throughout Pepperdine’s Malibu campus.
ROSTER — The Waves have just five players that saw action last season. Only four of them were on the roster at season’s end, and because of injuries, only two of them played in the 2007-08 season finale at the WCC Tournament. The five returners accounted for 40.2% of last year’s scoring (950/2,365), 32.0% of the rebounding (357/1,117), 59.6% of the assists (239/401), 16.4% of the blocked shots (21/128) and 57.9% of the steals (183/316). To replenish the roster, the Waves added 10 newcomers. Two are sophomores that are junior college transfers, six are scholarship freshmen and two others are walk-on freshmen. Of the 15 players, 12 are underclassmen. The breakdown is three seniors, zero juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen.
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/30/2009
UPCOMING — Following an impressive victory at San Francisco in which Keion Bell scored 32 points, the Pepperdine men’s basketball team completes the first half of West Coast Conference play this Saturday with its contest at Santa Clara. A win would give the Waves sole possession of fifth place at the midway point. It’s the second of three straight road games, with local rival Loyola Marymount to follow next weekend. Underclassmen are dominating the young Pepperdine lineup, as freshmen and sophomores are scoring more than 86% of the points.
GAME #23 — Saturday (Jan. 31) at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif.: Pepperdine (5-17, 2-4) at Santa Clara (10-13, 2-4) at 7 p.m.ON THE WEB — Subscribers to "Wave Casts" can catch all Pepperdine men’s basketball games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, now in his 24th season with the Waves, is behind the microphone. Non-televised home games will have live audio and video, while road games will be audio only. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts link. An annual pass costs $69.95 and monthly subscriptions are also available. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team’s website when the Waves are on the road.
COACHES VS. CANCER WEEKEND — Tom Asbury and his staff will be wearing sneakers rather than the usual dress shoes with their suits this weekend as part of the annual "Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend." Since 1993, coaches across the country have taken part in this event to help raise the public consciousness about the fight against cancer. All eight WCC coaching staffs are slated to take part.
SANTA CLARA — Pepperdine is 52-64 all-time against Santa Clara. Over the last 10 meetings, the schools are 5-5 against each other. The Waves have won three straight at home but have lost three straight in Santa Clara. Tom Asbury went 8-5 against the Broncos in his first go-round as head coach.
LAST GAME — Keion Bell scored a career-high 32 points on 13-for-14 shooting to lead Pepperdine to its first road victory of the season and a 69-67 win at San Francisco on Thursday (Jan. 29). The Waves led nearly the entire contest and ended a six-game losing streak to USF. Bell hit his first nine shots of the game and sank all four of his three-pointers. Pepperdine built a 16-3 lead early and was ahead 31-30 at halftime. The Dons took a couple of one-point leads midway through the second half, but Bell’s three-point play with 12:33 to go put the Waves ahead to stay at 47-45. Although USF cut into Pepperdine’s lead at the end, the Dons never had a chance to tie the game or take the lead. Ryan Holmes played his best game since returning from a knee injury, getting nine points and five assists in 23 minutes.
MORE ON BELL — Keion Bell’s 32 points were two shy of the Pepperdine freshman single-game record (Tyrone Shelley scored 34 last season) ... His 13-for-14 shooting was one field goal made shy of tying the school record for single-game field-goal percentage (Dana Jones went 14-for-14 in 1991) ... His four steals at USF were the most by a Pepperdine player this season ... Bell is averaging team bests of 12.3 ppg overall and 17.0 ppg in WCC play ... He has scored in double-figures in four straight games and is averaging 20.8 points in that time.
ROTATION — Among the 11 players that got into the game against San Francisco, nine were freshmen or sophomores and seven weren’t on the roster last year ... Lately, Pepperdine has been starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a senior ... Prior to that, the Waves were starting four freshmen and one sophomore for a spell ... The Waves have played five freshmen on the court at one time on an occasional basis.
BAD STARTS — The Waves ended a trend of bad starts when they jumped out to a 16-3 lead at San Francisco. They had been put in a deep hole to start the game in each of the previous four contests, falling behind by double-digits just four to six minutes in each game. The Waves fell behind 9-0 and 13-2 at San Diego, 16-1 and 28-3 at Saint Mary’s, 17-0 vs. Gonzaga and 12-2 vs. Portland.BETTER FINISHES — The Waves have won the second half in each of the last three games, outscoring Gonzaga (43-38), Portland (35-29) and San Francisco (38-37). In fact, throw out the 17-0 deficit to Gonzaga after six minutes, and the Waves won the next 34 minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs by three. The 29 second-half points by the Pilots were the fewest by a Pepperdine opponent this season. The USF game was only the second time this season where the Waves won both the first and second half.
FRESHMAN SCORING — Last year, freshmen scored 63.6% of Pepperdine’s points. It looks like the new group of freshmen will lead the way in 2008-09 as well. Right now they account for 59.8% of the scoring, compared to 26.5% by the sophomores and 13.7% by the seniors. The two games where freshmen contributed the most (76%) were at Hawaii and vs. Portland.
SEASON NOTABLES — The win over Cal State Monterey Bay gave the Waves their first victory in a season opener since 2001-02 ... Veteran broadcaster Al Epstein called his 700th consecutive Pepperdine men’s basketball broadcast vs. Pacific on Dec. 13 ... The game at Cal State Northridge on Dec. 18 was the 2,000th in program history ... Pepperdine’s 12-game losing streak tied the third-longest in program history and was the longest since the 1965-66 season ... The Waves beat Loyola Marymount in Firestone Fieldhouse for the 11th consecutive time ... Pepperdine won its conference opener (vs. LMU) for the first time since 2005.
SOLES4SOULS — Pepperdine’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, in conjunction with student-fan group Riptide, will be collecting shoes at Firestone Fieldhouse until Feb. 17 for Soles4Souls. Soles4Souls has already successfully donated more than one million pairs of shoes to those hurting both domestically and internationally. Fans can drop off shoes, both new and used, into the Soles4Souls collection box located near the concession stand at Firestone Fieldhouse, or among several additional boxes placed throughout Pepperdine’s Malibu campus.
ROSTER — The Waves have just five players that saw action last season. Only four of them were on the roster at season’s end, and because of injuries, only two of them played in the 2007-08 season finale at the WCC Tournament. The five returners accounted for 40.2% of last year’s scoring (950/2,365), 32.0% of the rebounding (357/1,117), 59.6% of the assists (239/401), 16.4% of the blocked shots (21/128) and 57.9% of the steals (183/316). To replenish the roster, the Waves added 10 newcomers. Two are sophomores that are junior college transfers, six are scholarship freshmen and two others are walk-on freshmen. Of the 15 players, 12 are underclassmen. The breakdown is three seniors, zero juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen.
Broncos Host Pepperdine Saturday at 7 pm
John Bryant is just 9 rebounds from 1,000 milestone.
Jan. 31, 2009
John Bryant is just 9 rebounds from 1,000 milestone.
Jan. 31, 2009
Winning the last three games in a row, Santa Clara will close out its four-game homestand when it hosts Pepperdine at 7 pm on Sat., Jan. 31 before traveling to San Diego on Thurs., Feb. 5 for a COMCAST-televised game. Santa Clara will then return home next Sat., Feb. 7 to host Saint Mary's in a COMCAST-televised game at 8 pm.
SCU has won five of the last six games played at the Leavey Center vs. Pepperdine. Santa Clara broke the 100-point barrier against Pepperdine on Jan. 21,2008, the first time the Broncos had reached 100 points since 1993.
The Broncos are 10-13 and 2-4 in the WCC. The Broncos have won three in a row with their 70-54 win over San Francisco on Jan. 23, a 85-59 victory over Houston Baptist on Jan. 25 and an 82-56 win over LMU on Jan. 29. It was Santa Clara's seventh straight win over the Dons. John Bryant was named WCC Player of the Week after he averaged 19 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks last week vs. USF and Houston Baptist.
The Waves are 5-17 and 2-4 in the WCC this season. Pepperdine was 0-8 on the road this year until they defeated USF 69-67 on Jan. 29. They are led by Keion Bell (12.3 ppg) and Mychel Thompson (10.8 ppg). Taylor Darby grabs a team-leading 7.0 rpg.
Listen up
The SCU-Pepperdine game will be broadcast at 7 pm via the Bronco Radio Network on both KDOW 1220 AM and Broncos All-Access on the web at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 pm. Anthony Passarelli is in his second season as the Santa Clara men's basketball play-by-play announcer after six seasons of handling those duties for SCU women's basketball.
In addition, head coach Kerry Keating can be heard on KDOW 1220 AM on Sunday evenings from 8:30 - 9 pm in his radio spotlight on The Sports Ramble. The Sports Ramble, hosted by Chetan Chaudhari, runs on KDOW 1220 AM from 8 - 10 pm on Sunday evenings. If you are out of the listening area Bronco fans, KDOW is streamed online live at www.1220kdow.com so go to their website and listen live!
Like Numbers?
Ken Pomeroy of KenPom.com breaks down all kinds of numbers on his website as of Jan. 25. For example: Santa Clara is No. 20 in the country in block percentage.
Pomeroy breaks it down a lot further. Individually, John Bryant is ranked No. 1 nationally in defensive rebounding percentage and No. 4 in offensive rebounding percentage. He tops the WCC in both.
Bryant is ranked No. 4 in the country in percentage of shots taken and is No. 1 in the WCC. Bryant is No. 1 in the WCC in block percentage and No. 26 nationally. KenPom.com also breaks down Offensive Ratings as well. It's a measure of personal offensive efficiency developed by Dean Oliver. Bryant is No. 15 nationally.
Bryant Named Naismith Trophy Top 50 Finalist
Leading the country with 306 total rebounds this season, Santa Clara senior center John Bryant has been tabbed as one of the Top 50 Finalists for the Naismith Trophy. The two-week voting to name the top 30 Finalists will begin on Mon., Feb. 2. The Naismith Trophy, presented by AT&T, will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four in Detroit, Mich.
On the national level, Bryant is No. 2 with 13.3 rpg, No. 12 with 2.7 bpg and No. 20 in field goal percentage (59.3%). He is averaging a double-double with 17.0 ppg and 13.3 rpg in 29.2 mpg.
Bryant is the only Bronco in school history to score 1,400+ points, gather 900+ rebounds and block 200+ shots. On the Santa Clara career list: Bryant is No. 1 in career blocks (224), No. 3 in career rebounds (991) and No. 9 in career points (1,462).
Bryant is just nine boards shy of 1,000 career rebounds. The 6' 11, 275 San Pablo, CA native is looking to become just the third player in school history and the 14th in WCC history to reach the rebounding milestone. Bryant would be the 10th player in Bay Area history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, and the first since Stanford's Tim Young accomplished the feat in 1999. Bryant needs 47 rebounds to pass No. 2 Kurt Rambis (1,037 from 1976-80) and 145 rebounds to break the school record set by Dennis Awtrey (1,135 from 1967-70).
On the career points list, Bryant needs 275 points to break Kurt Rambis' school record (1,736 point from 1976-80).
Bryant has 16 double-doubles this season and is No. 2 nationally behind Oklahoma's Nate Griffin, who has 17 (as of Jan. 30). Bryant's 16 double-doubles this year: vs. CSU East Bay, vs. UAB, at Georgia, at Montana, at San Jose State, vs. Sacramento State, at UNLV, vs. Stanford, vs. UTEP, at Harvard, vs. San Diego, at Gonzaga, at Portland, vs. USF, vs. Houston Baptist and LMU. Bryant has 39 double-doubles in his career. He notched 15 double-doubles last season, five double-doubles in 2006-07 and had four double-doubles as a freshman during the 2005-06 season.
He was the WCC Player of the Week after averaging 18 rpg, 17 ppg and 4.5 bpg on Dec. 8; and again on Jan. 26 after averaging 19 ppg, 16.5 rpg and 3.5 rpg for the week.
He has twice tied his career-high with 22 rebounds at the Leavey Center, also the facility record set by Kurt Rambis vs. Saint Mary's in a 90-73 SCU win on Feb. 5, 1977. He has seven games with 20+ rebounds. Bryant has three games this year with 20+ points and 20+ rebounds. Those games were:
At San Jose State (12/3/08): 20 points, 21 rebounds
Vs. Stanford (12/23/08): 27 points, 22 rebounds
Vs. Houston Baptist (1/25/09): 20 points, 21 rebounds
In an article that appeared on SI.COM Jan. 30, writer John Gasaway lists him as one of the stars of his All-Underrated Team. Gasaway says of Bryant:
Meet the best defensive rebounder in the country, better than Blake Griffin or DeJuan Blair. When he's on the floor, Bryant gets to 35 percent of opponents' misses. He's also a very good shot-blocker. That's enough to merit consideration for my team right there, but Bryant's also a load for opponents on offense, hitting 59 percent of his twos and dominating the offensive glass. While Bryant might be All-Underrated nationally, he's no secret in the WCC and faces constant double- and even triple-teams, making his production all the more impressive.
Young Guns
With the Broncos starting three freshmen the last few games it appears they are one of the younger teams nationally this season. True. According to Robbie Allen of STATSHEET.COM, the Broncos have the 38th youngest team in the NCAA this year of the 342 Division I teams, which means 89% of the Division I teams have a more experienced roster than the Broncos. But, SCU isn't even the youngest team in the WCC this year. Santa Clara has an average age per minute of 2.15 years while LMU is No. 2 at 2.07 (No. 24 nationally) and Pepperdine is the WCC's youngest at 1.78 (No. 8 nationally). Both SCU and LMU are slated to start three freshmen and two seniors on Thursday night.
On the flip side, also according to Allen's figures, the three oldest in the WCC: Saint Mary's with an average age per minute of 3.09 is No. 1, Gonzaga is No. 2 at 3.07 and San Diego is No. 3 at 2.73. Nationally, of the team's ranked by most experience, Saint Mary's is No. 40 (top 88%) and Gonzaga is No. 47 (top 86%).
Show No Fear
The freshmen are some of the top youngsters in the WCC. Marc Trasolini leads the WCC in all games in field goal percentage and blocked shots. In WCC games he leads freshmen in the league in field goal percentage. Kevin Foster leads all games in scoring and James Rahon leads all games and WCC games in three-point percentage.
Trashing Them
In the LMU game Kevin Foster broke the freshman school record for three pointers attempted (146) and three pointers made (54). The previous records were 51 three pointers made and 145 three pointers attempted by Brandon Rohe in 2002-03.
Look for James Rahon to also break the freshman record for threes made as he has 46 already this season (record was 51) and could break the freshman school record as he is shooting 43.4% from beyond the arc. The top three point percentage was set by Steve Nash in 1992-93 when he shot 40.8% from the three point line.
Maybe even more impressive for Foster and Rahon to be breaking the three point line records: the three point line was moved out from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches this season.
Marc Trasolini is climbing up the rebounding and blocks freshman school record charts as well.
James Rahon has scored a career-high 25 points each of the last two games and 20+ each of the last three games. To tally 25 vs. Houston Baptist he was 6 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 9 from the arc. He was 8 of 8 from the free throw line. To tally 25 vs. LMU he was 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 6 from the three-point line. Rahon was 4 of 6 from the charity stripe, missing his last free throw attempt which would have given him a career-high 26 points. Rahon has made 14 three pointers in the last three games.
Santa Clara has beaten its last three opponents by 26 points each. The Broncos defeated USF 70-54, Houston Baptist 85-59 and LMU 82-56. The Broncos are 4-0 this year when they score 80+ points and 6-1 under Coach Keating in the last two years.
Team Highs
Santa Clara collected 11 blocks vs. LMU, a two-year high under Keating.
Santa Clara hit a season-high 89 points vs. UTEP and the Broncos are shooting better than 46% from the field. The Broncos are out-rebounding their opponents by 4.3 rpg, but turning the ball over 3.6 more times than their opponents. In the latest NCAA stats (Jan. 30), Santa Clara is ranked No. 318 in the nation in turnover margin.
Santa Clara had just 10 turnovers vs. Sacramento State, vs. Notre Dame de Namur and at Pacific, its lowest totals since the Broncos turned the ball over nine times vs. Saint Mary's on March 4, 2007.
The Broncos collected 48 rebounds vs. Houston Baptist, a high under head coach Kerry Keating; and the most since the Broncos grabbed 49 rebounds vs. Holy Names on Nov. 14, 2006.
Santa Clara held two straight home opponents to 14 points in the first half this year. Sacramento State scored 14 in the first half and went on to score 18 points in the second half to finish 51-32 losers to Santa Clara on Dec. 6. NDNU scored 14 points in the first half vs. Santa Clara and fell 67-47 to the Broncos on Dec. 13.
The 14 points in the first half were the fewest a team has scored vs. the Broncos since Stanford scored 12 points in the first half of a 62-46 loss to SCU, at Stanford, on Dec. 16, 2006.
All three: 20+ some
20+ is a popular number of points to score with the freshmen crew this year. Kevin Foster hit a career-best 24 vs. Belmont on Dec. 29, scoring on 8 of 17 shots (3 of 11 from three point land), collecting on 5 of 5 at the free throw line.
Foster then turned it up a notch at Saint Mary's and scored 31 points, a career best. The last Bronco freshman to score at least 25 points: senior Calvin Johnson scored 25 vs. Cal Poly on Dec. 10, 2005 during his freshman campaign. He hit 9 of 14 shots in that game, including six three-pointers. Foster has scored 20+ points six times this season, including 20 points vs. LMU.
Marc Trasolini scored a career-best 24 points at UNH, knocking down 7 of 8 shots and hitting a career-best 10 of 12 from the charity stripe. It was Trasolini's first double-double of the year.
On Jan. 23, James Rahon topped the 20 mark for the first time in his career when he scored 21 points in the win over USF. Rahon hit 7 of 14 shots, including 4 of 7 from the three point line and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. He added a career-high five assists for good measure.
Not to be out-done on Jan. 25 Rahon scored a career-high 25 points, hitting 6 of 12, including 5 of 9 from the three-point line and 8 of 8 from the free throw line.
Rahon did it again on Jan. 29 vs. LMU, scoring 25 points for the second straight game, including hitting 5 three pointers.
Only ONE Bryant!
John Bryant is working to become the first Bronco since Kurt Rambis to collect 1,000+ rebounds and just the third in school history. Dennis Awtrey holds the school record with 1,135 rebounds (1967-70) and Rambis is second with 1,037 rebounds (1976-80). Bryant has 991 career rebounds and needs just 143 to break Awtrey's school record. He is No. 9 on the all-time scoring list with 1,462 points. He needs 276 points to break Kurt Rambis' school record from 1976-80.
In single season records, he has already passed his own rebound total at No. 9, set last year when he grabbed 298 on the year.
Bryant is in a number of career top 10 lists. See below.
SCU has won five of the last six games played at the Leavey Center vs. Pepperdine. Santa Clara broke the 100-point barrier against Pepperdine on Jan. 21,2008, the first time the Broncos had reached 100 points since 1993.
The Broncos are 10-13 and 2-4 in the WCC. The Broncos have won three in a row with their 70-54 win over San Francisco on Jan. 23, a 85-59 victory over Houston Baptist on Jan. 25 and an 82-56 win over LMU on Jan. 29. It was Santa Clara's seventh straight win over the Dons. John Bryant was named WCC Player of the Week after he averaged 19 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks last week vs. USF and Houston Baptist.
The Waves are 5-17 and 2-4 in the WCC this season. Pepperdine was 0-8 on the road this year until they defeated USF 69-67 on Jan. 29. They are led by Keion Bell (12.3 ppg) and Mychel Thompson (10.8 ppg). Taylor Darby grabs a team-leading 7.0 rpg.
Listen up
The SCU-Pepperdine game will be broadcast at 7 pm via the Bronco Radio Network on both KDOW 1220 AM and Broncos All-Access on the web at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 pm. Anthony Passarelli is in his second season as the Santa Clara men's basketball play-by-play announcer after six seasons of handling those duties for SCU women's basketball.
In addition, head coach Kerry Keating can be heard on KDOW 1220 AM on Sunday evenings from 8:30 - 9 pm in his radio spotlight on The Sports Ramble. The Sports Ramble, hosted by Chetan Chaudhari, runs on KDOW 1220 AM from 8 - 10 pm on Sunday evenings. If you are out of the listening area Bronco fans, KDOW is streamed online live at www.1220kdow.com so go to their website and listen live!
Like Numbers?
Ken Pomeroy of KenPom.com breaks down all kinds of numbers on his website as of Jan. 25. For example: Santa Clara is No. 20 in the country in block percentage.
Pomeroy breaks it down a lot further. Individually, John Bryant is ranked No. 1 nationally in defensive rebounding percentage and No. 4 in offensive rebounding percentage. He tops the WCC in both.
Bryant is ranked No. 4 in the country in percentage of shots taken and is No. 1 in the WCC. Bryant is No. 1 in the WCC in block percentage and No. 26 nationally. KenPom.com also breaks down Offensive Ratings as well. It's a measure of personal offensive efficiency developed by Dean Oliver. Bryant is No. 15 nationally.
Bryant Named Naismith Trophy Top 50 Finalist
Leading the country with 306 total rebounds this season, Santa Clara senior center John Bryant has been tabbed as one of the Top 50 Finalists for the Naismith Trophy. The two-week voting to name the top 30 Finalists will begin on Mon., Feb. 2. The Naismith Trophy, presented by AT&T, will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four in Detroit, Mich.
On the national level, Bryant is No. 2 with 13.3 rpg, No. 12 with 2.7 bpg and No. 20 in field goal percentage (59.3%). He is averaging a double-double with 17.0 ppg and 13.3 rpg in 29.2 mpg.
Bryant is the only Bronco in school history to score 1,400+ points, gather 900+ rebounds and block 200+ shots. On the Santa Clara career list: Bryant is No. 1 in career blocks (224), No. 3 in career rebounds (991) and No. 9 in career points (1,462).
Bryant is just nine boards shy of 1,000 career rebounds. The 6' 11, 275 San Pablo, CA native is looking to become just the third player in school history and the 14th in WCC history to reach the rebounding milestone. Bryant would be the 10th player in Bay Area history to reach 1,000 career rebounds, and the first since Stanford's Tim Young accomplished the feat in 1999. Bryant needs 47 rebounds to pass No. 2 Kurt Rambis (1,037 from 1976-80) and 145 rebounds to break the school record set by Dennis Awtrey (1,135 from 1967-70).
On the career points list, Bryant needs 275 points to break Kurt Rambis' school record (1,736 point from 1976-80).
Bryant has 16 double-doubles this season and is No. 2 nationally behind Oklahoma's Nate Griffin, who has 17 (as of Jan. 30). Bryant's 16 double-doubles this year: vs. CSU East Bay, vs. UAB, at Georgia, at Montana, at San Jose State, vs. Sacramento State, at UNLV, vs. Stanford, vs. UTEP, at Harvard, vs. San Diego, at Gonzaga, at Portland, vs. USF, vs. Houston Baptist and LMU. Bryant has 39 double-doubles in his career. He notched 15 double-doubles last season, five double-doubles in 2006-07 and had four double-doubles as a freshman during the 2005-06 season.
He was the WCC Player of the Week after averaging 18 rpg, 17 ppg and 4.5 bpg on Dec. 8; and again on Jan. 26 after averaging 19 ppg, 16.5 rpg and 3.5 rpg for the week.
He has twice tied his career-high with 22 rebounds at the Leavey Center, also the facility record set by Kurt Rambis vs. Saint Mary's in a 90-73 SCU win on Feb. 5, 1977. He has seven games with 20+ rebounds. Bryant has three games this year with 20+ points and 20+ rebounds. Those games were:
At San Jose State (12/3/08): 20 points, 21 rebounds
Vs. Stanford (12/23/08): 27 points, 22 rebounds
Vs. Houston Baptist (1/25/09): 20 points, 21 rebounds
In an article that appeared on SI.COM Jan. 30, writer John Gasaway lists him as one of the stars of his All-Underrated Team. Gasaway says of Bryant:
Meet the best defensive rebounder in the country, better than Blake Griffin or DeJuan Blair. When he's on the floor, Bryant gets to 35 percent of opponents' misses. He's also a very good shot-blocker. That's enough to merit consideration for my team right there, but Bryant's also a load for opponents on offense, hitting 59 percent of his twos and dominating the offensive glass. While Bryant might be All-Underrated nationally, he's no secret in the WCC and faces constant double- and even triple-teams, making his production all the more impressive.
Young Guns
With the Broncos starting three freshmen the last few games it appears they are one of the younger teams nationally this season. True. According to Robbie Allen of STATSHEET.COM, the Broncos have the 38th youngest team in the NCAA this year of the 342 Division I teams, which means 89% of the Division I teams have a more experienced roster than the Broncos. But, SCU isn't even the youngest team in the WCC this year. Santa Clara has an average age per minute of 2.15 years while LMU is No. 2 at 2.07 (No. 24 nationally) and Pepperdine is the WCC's youngest at 1.78 (No. 8 nationally). Both SCU and LMU are slated to start three freshmen and two seniors on Thursday night.
On the flip side, also according to Allen's figures, the three oldest in the WCC: Saint Mary's with an average age per minute of 3.09 is No. 1, Gonzaga is No. 2 at 3.07 and San Diego is No. 3 at 2.73. Nationally, of the team's ranked by most experience, Saint Mary's is No. 40 (top 88%) and Gonzaga is No. 47 (top 86%).
Show No Fear
The freshmen are some of the top youngsters in the WCC. Marc Trasolini leads the WCC in all games in field goal percentage and blocked shots. In WCC games he leads freshmen in the league in field goal percentage. Kevin Foster leads all games in scoring and James Rahon leads all games and WCC games in three-point percentage.
Trashing Them
In the LMU game Kevin Foster broke the freshman school record for three pointers attempted (146) and three pointers made (54). The previous records were 51 three pointers made and 145 three pointers attempted by Brandon Rohe in 2002-03.
Look for James Rahon to also break the freshman record for threes made as he has 46 already this season (record was 51) and could break the freshman school record as he is shooting 43.4% from beyond the arc. The top three point percentage was set by Steve Nash in 1992-93 when he shot 40.8% from the three point line.
Maybe even more impressive for Foster and Rahon to be breaking the three point line records: the three point line was moved out from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches this season.
Marc Trasolini is climbing up the rebounding and blocks freshman school record charts as well.
James Rahon has scored a career-high 25 points each of the last two games and 20+ each of the last three games. To tally 25 vs. Houston Baptist he was 6 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 9 from the arc. He was 8 of 8 from the free throw line. To tally 25 vs. LMU he was 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 of 6 from the three-point line. Rahon was 4 of 6 from the charity stripe, missing his last free throw attempt which would have given him a career-high 26 points. Rahon has made 14 three pointers in the last three games.
Santa Clara has beaten its last three opponents by 26 points each. The Broncos defeated USF 70-54, Houston Baptist 85-59 and LMU 82-56. The Broncos are 4-0 this year when they score 80+ points and 6-1 under Coach Keating in the last two years.
Team Highs
Santa Clara collected 11 blocks vs. LMU, a two-year high under Keating.
Santa Clara hit a season-high 89 points vs. UTEP and the Broncos are shooting better than 46% from the field. The Broncos are out-rebounding their opponents by 4.3 rpg, but turning the ball over 3.6 more times than their opponents. In the latest NCAA stats (Jan. 30), Santa Clara is ranked No. 318 in the nation in turnover margin.
Santa Clara had just 10 turnovers vs. Sacramento State, vs. Notre Dame de Namur and at Pacific, its lowest totals since the Broncos turned the ball over nine times vs. Saint Mary's on March 4, 2007.
The Broncos collected 48 rebounds vs. Houston Baptist, a high under head coach Kerry Keating; and the most since the Broncos grabbed 49 rebounds vs. Holy Names on Nov. 14, 2006.
Santa Clara held two straight home opponents to 14 points in the first half this year. Sacramento State scored 14 in the first half and went on to score 18 points in the second half to finish 51-32 losers to Santa Clara on Dec. 6. NDNU scored 14 points in the first half vs. Santa Clara and fell 67-47 to the Broncos on Dec. 13.
The 14 points in the first half were the fewest a team has scored vs. the Broncos since Stanford scored 12 points in the first half of a 62-46 loss to SCU, at Stanford, on Dec. 16, 2006.
All three: 20+ some
20+ is a popular number of points to score with the freshmen crew this year. Kevin Foster hit a career-best 24 vs. Belmont on Dec. 29, scoring on 8 of 17 shots (3 of 11 from three point land), collecting on 5 of 5 at the free throw line.
Foster then turned it up a notch at Saint Mary's and scored 31 points, a career best. The last Bronco freshman to score at least 25 points: senior Calvin Johnson scored 25 vs. Cal Poly on Dec. 10, 2005 during his freshman campaign. He hit 9 of 14 shots in that game, including six three-pointers. Foster has scored 20+ points six times this season, including 20 points vs. LMU.
Marc Trasolini scored a career-best 24 points at UNH, knocking down 7 of 8 shots and hitting a career-best 10 of 12 from the charity stripe. It was Trasolini's first double-double of the year.
On Jan. 23, James Rahon topped the 20 mark for the first time in his career when he scored 21 points in the win over USF. Rahon hit 7 of 14 shots, including 4 of 7 from the three point line and 3 of 4 from the free throw line. He added a career-high five assists for good measure.
Not to be out-done on Jan. 25 Rahon scored a career-high 25 points, hitting 6 of 12, including 5 of 9 from the three-point line and 8 of 8 from the free throw line.
Rahon did it again on Jan. 29 vs. LMU, scoring 25 points for the second straight game, including hitting 5 three pointers.
Only ONE Bryant!
John Bryant is working to become the first Bronco since Kurt Rambis to collect 1,000+ rebounds and just the third in school history. Dennis Awtrey holds the school record with 1,135 rebounds (1967-70) and Rambis is second with 1,037 rebounds (1976-80). Bryant has 991 career rebounds and needs just 143 to break Awtrey's school record. He is No. 9 on the all-time scoring list with 1,462 points. He needs 276 points to break Kurt Rambis' school record from 1976-80.
In single season records, he has already passed his own rebound total at No. 9, set last year when he grabbed 298 on the year.
Bryant is in a number of career top 10 lists. See below.
Bell's 32 Points Leads Waves Over USF, 69-67
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/29/2009
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Freshman guard Keion Bell scored a career-high 32 points on 13-for-14 shooting to lead the Pepperdine men’s basketball to its first road victory of the season and a 69-67 win over San Francisco in a West Coast Conference game on Thursday evening.
The Waves, who led nearly the entire contest, improved to 5-17 overall and 2-4 in the WCC and ended a six-game losing streak in to the Dons. It was Pepperdine’s first road win in nine tries this season and snapped a four-game overall losing streak. USF dropped to 8-13, 0-6.
Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) hit his first nine shots of the game and sank all four of his three-pointers. He added four steals and three rebounds in 27 minutes. He finished two points shy of Pepperdine's freshman record (34 by Tyrone Shelley last year) and one field goal made short of tying the school record for single-game field goal percentage (14-for-14 by Dana Jones in 1991).
“We got our hands on a lot of balls and did a solid job defensively,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. “USF is as young as we are. But we showed some poise and grit. The last four or five minutes, that’s where we have usually had problems. But I told our guys that with all of the minutes they’ve played, they’re not freshmen anymore. We’re maturing a little bit. They hung in there. It’s great to get a road win, and it’s important to win on the road.
“Keion did a great job finishing plays. He was active tonight. He got some points on breakaways and did well finishing with an open court.” USF’s Dior Lowhorn, the WCC’s leading scorer, had 28 points and 10 rebounds.
Unlike the four previous games where the Waves fell behind early, Pepperdine got off to a terrific start in this one, holding USF without a field goal for more than 6 ½ minutes. The Waves hit six of their first seven shots, several coming in transition, and jumped out to a 16-3 lead. Bell and senior guard Ryan Holmes (Phoenix, Ariz./Millennium HS/Phoenix CC) sparked the Waves to the big start, with Bell scoring seven points and Holmes getting five along with a couple of steals and assists. The 13-point advantage has been the Waves’ largest in conference play.
The Dons started taking better care of the ball and limiting the Waves’ fast-break opportunities, however, and an 8-0 run cut Pepperdine’s lead to 18-14 with less than eight minutes to go in the first half. USF would eventually tie the game at 25-25, but the Waves would eventually go into halftime with a 31-30 lead.
Bell scored the Waves’ first seven points of the second half to improve their lead to 38-32. USF would rally, however, and take its first lead at 43-42 with 14:10 to play on Kwame Vaughn’s lay-up. After a couple of lead changes, Bell put the Waves ahead 47-45 with a three-point play with 12:33 to go. Pepperdine took a few seven-point leads, and then made it eight at 64-56 with less than four minutes to play after Bell’s fourth three-pointer of the game.
A putback by freshman forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) made it an eight-point game again at 66-58 with three minutes left, but Lowhorn hit a jumper and a three-pointer cut the deficit to 66-63 with 1:30 to go. With the shot clock winding down, sophomore forward Mychel Thompson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Stoneridge Prep) banked in a jumper from the right side to push Pepperdine’s advantage back up to 68-63 with 54 seconds left.
USF’s Vaughn sank two free throws with 38 seconds left, but senior guard Mike Hornbuckle (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS/Azusa Pacific) made one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game again at 69-65 with 27.6 seconds left. The Dons turned the ball over, but the Waves missed the front end of a one-and-one. USF’s Manny Quezada scored on a lay-up with 3.6 seconds left to make it 69-67. Holmes took the inbounds pass and was able to dribble out the rest of the court.
Holmes played his best game since returning from a knee injury, getting nine points and five assists in 23 minutes. Darby added eight points. Of the 11 players that saw action for the Waves, nine were freshmen or sophomores and seven weren’t on the roster last year. The Waves finish up the first half of the WCC season on Saturday (Jan. 31) at Santa Clara in a 7 p.m. contest. Subscribers to “Wave Casts” at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/ You can listen to Al Epstein’s call of the action.
.Men's Hoops Visits Bay Area This Weekend
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/27/2009
Pepperdine Men's Basketball Game Notes
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine men’s basketball team completes the first half of West Coast Conference play this weekend with a road trip to the Bay Area to meet San Francisco and Santa Clara. It’s the first of three straight road games, with local rival Loyola Marymount to follow. The young Waves are hoping to end a four-game losing streak. Underclassmen are dominating the Pepperdine lineup, as freshmen and sophomores are scoring nearly 87% of the points.
GAME #22 — Thursday (Jan. 29) at War Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco, Calif.: Pepperdine (4-17, 1-4) at San Francisco (8-12, 0-5) at 7 p.m.
GAME #23 — Saturday (Jan. 31) at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif.: Pepperdine at Santa Clara (9-13, 1-4) at 7 p.m.
ON THE WEB — Subscribers to "Wave Casts" can catch all Pepperdine men’s basketball games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, now in his 24th season with the Waves, is behind the microphone. Non-televised home games will have live audio and video, while road games will be audio only. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts link. An annual pass costs $69.95 and monthly subscriptions are also available. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team’s website when the Waves are on the road.
SAN FRANCISCO — Pepperdine is 45-64 all-time against San Francisco and has lost six in a row, including three in War Memorial Gym. The last Pepperdine victory came in 2005 in San Francisco. Tom Asbury went 13-3 against the Dons in his first stint as head coach.
SANTA CLARA — Pepperdine is 52-64 all-time against Santa Clara. The Broncos swept the season series last season. Pepperdine won at Santa Clara in 2007. That was the Waves’ only win in the series in the last 10 games. Tom Asbury went 8-5 against the Broncos in his first go-round as head coach.
LAST GAME — Another slow start cost Pepperdine as the Waves lost at home to Portland, 73-58, on Saturday (Jan. 24). The Waves fell behind 12-2 after a little more than four minutes and never caught up. Pepperdine closed the gap to as few as three points, but trailed 44-23 at halftime and got no closer than 13 points in the second half. Keion Bell and Taylor Darby each scored 12 points for the Waves.
QUICK HITS — Keion Bell is averaging 14.0 points in conference play and 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the last three games ... Ten of Andy Shannon’s 12 blocks this season have come in the last six games, and he had four vs. Portland (most by a Pepperdine player this season) ... Mychel Thompson had his streak of five games scoring in double-figures end vs. Portland (the longest stretch by a Wave this season).
BAD STARTS — One trend that the Waves are hoping to end is that they’ve been put in a deep hole to start the game in each of the last four contests. Pepperdine has been behind by double-digits just four to six minutes in each game. The Waves fell behind 9-0 and 13-2 at San Diego, 16-1 and 28-3 at Saint Mary’s, 17-0 vs. Gonzaga and 12-2 vs. Portland.
BETTER FINISHES — The Waves outscored Gonzaga (43-38) and Portland (35-29) in the second halves of their games this past weekend. In fact, throw out the 17-0 deficit to Gonzaga after six minutes, and the Waves won the next 34 minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs by three. The 29 second-half points by the Pilots were the fewest by a Pepperdine opponent this season.
FRESHMAN SCORING — Last year, freshmen scored 63.6% of Pepperdine’s points. It looks like the new group of freshmen will lead the way in 2008-09 as well. Right now they account for 59.2% of the scoring, compared to 27.4% by the sophomores and 13.4% by the seniors. The two games where freshmen contributed the most (76%) were at Hawaii and vs. Portland.
STAT LEADERS — Taylor Darby is fourth in the WCC in rebounding (7.2) and 15th in blocked shots (0.57) ... Keion Bell is sixth in steals (1.44) and free throw percentage (.757), 14th in assists (2.14) and 15th in scoring (11.4) ... Dane Suttle Jr. is eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.387) and tied for 11th in three-pointers made (1.43) ... Andy Shannon is ninth in blocked shots (0.92) ... Mychel Thompson is 16th in scoring (11.1).
SEASON NOTABLES — The win over Cal State Monterey Bay gave the Waves their first victory in a season opener since 2001-02 ... Veteran broadcaster Al Epstein called his 700th consecutive Pepperdine men’s basketball broadcast vs. Pacific on Dec. 13 ... The game at Cal State Northridge on Dec. 18 was the 2,000th in program history ... Pepperdine’s 12-game losing streak tied the third-longest in program history and was the longest since the 1965-66 season ... The Waves beat Loyola Marymount in Firestone Fieldhouse for the 11th consecutive time ... Pepperdine won its conference opener (vs. LMU) for the first time since 2005.
SOLES4SOULS — Pepperdine’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, in conjunction with student-fan group Riptide, will be collecting shoes at Firestone Fieldhouse until Feb. 17 for Soles4Souls. Soles4Souls has already successfully donated more than one million pairs of shoes to those hurting both domestically and internationally. Fans can drop off shoes, both new and used, into the Soles4Souls collection box located near the concession stand at Firestone Fieldhouse, or among several additional boxes placed throughout Pepperdine’s Malibu campus.
ROSTER — The Waves have just five players that saw action last season. Only four of them were on the roster at season’s end, and because of injuries, only two of them played in the 2007-08 season finale at the WCC Tournament. The five returners accounted for 40.2% of last year’s scoring (950/2,365), 32.0% of the rebounding (357/1,117), 59.6% of the assists (239/401), 16.4% of the blocked shots (21/128) and 57.9% of the steals (183/316). To replenish the roster, the Waves added 10 newcomers. Two are sophomores that are junior college transfers, six are scholarship freshmen and two others are walk-on freshmen. Of the 15 players, 12 are underclassmen. The breakdown is three seniors, zero juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen.
AGRE OUT — Sophomore center Denis Agre, in his first season at Pepperdine after transferring from Central Arizona College, became academically ineligible at the start of the semester. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.6 rebounds and started seven of the first 16 games.
RETURNERS — Three players — senior Rico Tucker (10.7 ppg last season), sophomore Mychel Thompson (8.1 ppg) and senior Ryan Holmes (6.0 ppg) — were starters in 2007-08. Senior Mike Hornbuckle (5.5 ppg) saw extended playing time last season and started half of the 32 games. Sophomore Gus Clardy (1.3 ppg), a walk-on, appeared in 16 games last season.
NEWCOMERS — When Tom Asbury was hired in February 2008, he was given a very late start to the recruiting process. The three recruits that signed letters-of-intent with the previous coaching staff were given their release, and several players transferred following the season. With many holes to fill, Asbury and his staff utilized their contacts, identified the best of the remaining unsigned talent that fit their needs and put together a very impressive group under the circumstances. The Sporting News ranked Pepperdine’s recruiting class #2 in the West Coast Conference.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE — The home schedule should have been much more palatable to Waves fans in 2008-09. A year after playing just three non-conference home games, Pepperdine supporters were treated to eight this time around, including ones against such big-time opponents as Brigham Young and Georgia Tech, and in-state rivals such as Cal State Bakersfield, UC Irvine and Pacific. A few of the road games were notable too, including contests at Pac-10 foes Arizona State and USC. The Waves also took part in the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii right after Christmas.
TELEVISION — The Waves will appear on television several times once again in 2008-09. Six games will be shown locally (Nov. 21 at Arizona State on FSN Prime Ticket, Jan. 10 vs. Loyola Marymount on ESPNU, Jan. 22 vs. Gonzaga on FSN West, Feb. 14 vs. San Diego on FSN West, Feb. 21 at Gonzaga on ESPNU and Feb. 26 vs. Saint Mary’s on FSN West). A few other games will be televised out of market (Nov. 21 at New Mexico State on FSN Arizona, Dec. 28 vs. Buffalo on KFVE in Hawaii, Jan. 17 at Saint Mary’s on Comcast Sports Net California).
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/29/2009
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Freshman guard Keion Bell scored a career-high 32 points on 13-for-14 shooting to lead the Pepperdine men’s basketball to its first road victory of the season and a 69-67 win over San Francisco in a West Coast Conference game on Thursday evening.
The Waves, who led nearly the entire contest, improved to 5-17 overall and 2-4 in the WCC and ended a six-game losing streak in to the Dons. It was Pepperdine’s first road win in nine tries this season and snapped a four-game overall losing streak. USF dropped to 8-13, 0-6.
Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) hit his first nine shots of the game and sank all four of his three-pointers. He added four steals and three rebounds in 27 minutes. He finished two points shy of Pepperdine's freshman record (34 by Tyrone Shelley last year) and one field goal made short of tying the school record for single-game field goal percentage (14-for-14 by Dana Jones in 1991).
“We got our hands on a lot of balls and did a solid job defensively,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. “USF is as young as we are. But we showed some poise and grit. The last four or five minutes, that’s where we have usually had problems. But I told our guys that with all of the minutes they’ve played, they’re not freshmen anymore. We’re maturing a little bit. They hung in there. It’s great to get a road win, and it’s important to win on the road.
“Keion did a great job finishing plays. He was active tonight. He got some points on breakaways and did well finishing with an open court.” USF’s Dior Lowhorn, the WCC’s leading scorer, had 28 points and 10 rebounds.
Unlike the four previous games where the Waves fell behind early, Pepperdine got off to a terrific start in this one, holding USF without a field goal for more than 6 ½ minutes. The Waves hit six of their first seven shots, several coming in transition, and jumped out to a 16-3 lead. Bell and senior guard Ryan Holmes (Phoenix, Ariz./Millennium HS/Phoenix CC) sparked the Waves to the big start, with Bell scoring seven points and Holmes getting five along with a couple of steals and assists. The 13-point advantage has been the Waves’ largest in conference play.
The Dons started taking better care of the ball and limiting the Waves’ fast-break opportunities, however, and an 8-0 run cut Pepperdine’s lead to 18-14 with less than eight minutes to go in the first half. USF would eventually tie the game at 25-25, but the Waves would eventually go into halftime with a 31-30 lead.
Bell scored the Waves’ first seven points of the second half to improve their lead to 38-32. USF would rally, however, and take its first lead at 43-42 with 14:10 to play on Kwame Vaughn’s lay-up. After a couple of lead changes, Bell put the Waves ahead 47-45 with a three-point play with 12:33 to go. Pepperdine took a few seven-point leads, and then made it eight at 64-56 with less than four minutes to play after Bell’s fourth three-pointer of the game.
A putback by freshman forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) made it an eight-point game again at 66-58 with three minutes left, but Lowhorn hit a jumper and a three-pointer cut the deficit to 66-63 with 1:30 to go. With the shot clock winding down, sophomore forward Mychel Thompson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Stoneridge Prep) banked in a jumper from the right side to push Pepperdine’s advantage back up to 68-63 with 54 seconds left.
USF’s Vaughn sank two free throws with 38 seconds left, but senior guard Mike Hornbuckle (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS/Azusa Pacific) made one of two free throws to make it a two-possession game again at 69-65 with 27.6 seconds left. The Dons turned the ball over, but the Waves missed the front end of a one-and-one. USF’s Manny Quezada scored on a lay-up with 3.6 seconds left to make it 69-67. Holmes took the inbounds pass and was able to dribble out the rest of the court.
Holmes played his best game since returning from a knee injury, getting nine points and five assists in 23 minutes. Darby added eight points. Of the 11 players that saw action for the Waves, nine were freshmen or sophomores and seven weren’t on the roster last year. The Waves finish up the first half of the WCC season on Saturday (Jan. 31) at Santa Clara in a 7 p.m. contest. Subscribers to “Wave Casts” at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/ You can listen to Al Epstein’s call of the action.
.Men's Hoops Visits Bay Area This Weekend
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 01/27/2009
Pepperdine Men's Basketball Game Notes
UPCOMING — The Pepperdine men’s basketball team completes the first half of West Coast Conference play this weekend with a road trip to the Bay Area to meet San Francisco and Santa Clara. It’s the first of three straight road games, with local rival Loyola Marymount to follow. The young Waves are hoping to end a four-game losing streak. Underclassmen are dominating the Pepperdine lineup, as freshmen and sophomores are scoring nearly 87% of the points.
GAME #22 — Thursday (Jan. 29) at War Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco, Calif.: Pepperdine (4-17, 1-4) at San Francisco (8-12, 0-5) at 7 p.m.GAME #23 — Saturday (Jan. 31) at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, Calif.: Pepperdine at Santa Clara (9-13, 1-4) at 7 p.m.
ON THE WEB — Subscribers to "Wave Casts" can catch all Pepperdine men’s basketball games on the internet at www.pepperdinesports.com. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein, now in his 24th season with the Waves, is behind the microphone. Non-televised home games will have live audio and video, while road games will be audio only. Go to the Pepperdine Athletics website and look for the WaveCasts link. An annual pass costs $69.95 and monthly subscriptions are also available. Live statistics will be available for all home matches free of charge, and links are provided to the home team’s website when the Waves are on the road.
SAN FRANCISCO — Pepperdine is 45-64 all-time against San Francisco and has lost six in a row, including three in War Memorial Gym. The last Pepperdine victory came in 2005 in San Francisco. Tom Asbury went 13-3 against the Dons in his first stint as head coach.
SANTA CLARA — Pepperdine is 52-64 all-time against Santa Clara. The Broncos swept the season series last season. Pepperdine won at Santa Clara in 2007. That was the Waves’ only win in the series in the last 10 games. Tom Asbury went 8-5 against the Broncos in his first go-round as head coach.
LAST GAME — Another slow start cost Pepperdine as the Waves lost at home to Portland, 73-58, on Saturday (Jan. 24). The Waves fell behind 12-2 after a little more than four minutes and never caught up. Pepperdine closed the gap to as few as three points, but trailed 44-23 at halftime and got no closer than 13 points in the second half. Keion Bell and Taylor Darby each scored 12 points for the Waves.
QUICK HITS — Keion Bell is averaging 14.0 points in conference play and 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in the last three games ... Ten of Andy Shannon’s 12 blocks this season have come in the last six games, and he had four vs. Portland (most by a Pepperdine player this season) ... Mychel Thompson had his streak of five games scoring in double-figures end vs. Portland (the longest stretch by a Wave this season).
BAD STARTS — One trend that the Waves are hoping to end is that they’ve been put in a deep hole to start the game in each of the last four contests. Pepperdine has been behind by double-digits just four to six minutes in each game. The Waves fell behind 9-0 and 13-2 at San Diego, 16-1 and 28-3 at Saint Mary’s, 17-0 vs. Gonzaga and 12-2 vs. Portland.
BETTER FINISHES — The Waves outscored Gonzaga (43-38) and Portland (35-29) in the second halves of their games this past weekend. In fact, throw out the 17-0 deficit to Gonzaga after six minutes, and the Waves won the next 34 minutes, outscoring the Bulldogs by three. The 29 second-half points by the Pilots were the fewest by a Pepperdine opponent this season.
FRESHMAN SCORING — Last year, freshmen scored 63.6% of Pepperdine’s points. It looks like the new group of freshmen will lead the way in 2008-09 as well. Right now they account for 59.2% of the scoring, compared to 27.4% by the sophomores and 13.4% by the seniors. The two games where freshmen contributed the most (76%) were at Hawaii and vs. Portland.
STAT LEADERS — Taylor Darby is fourth in the WCC in rebounding (7.2) and 15th in blocked shots (0.57) ... Keion Bell is sixth in steals (1.44) and free throw percentage (.757), 14th in assists (2.14) and 15th in scoring (11.4) ... Dane Suttle Jr. is eighth in three-point field goal percentage (.387) and tied for 11th in three-pointers made (1.43) ... Andy Shannon is ninth in blocked shots (0.92) ... Mychel Thompson is 16th in scoring (11.1).
SEASON NOTABLES — The win over Cal State Monterey Bay gave the Waves their first victory in a season opener since 2001-02 ... Veteran broadcaster Al Epstein called his 700th consecutive Pepperdine men’s basketball broadcast vs. Pacific on Dec. 13 ... The game at Cal State Northridge on Dec. 18 was the 2,000th in program history ... Pepperdine’s 12-game losing streak tied the third-longest in program history and was the longest since the 1965-66 season ... The Waves beat Loyola Marymount in Firestone Fieldhouse for the 11th consecutive time ... Pepperdine won its conference opener (vs. LMU) for the first time since 2005.
SOLES4SOULS — Pepperdine’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, in conjunction with student-fan group Riptide, will be collecting shoes at Firestone Fieldhouse until Feb. 17 for Soles4Souls. Soles4Souls has already successfully donated more than one million pairs of shoes to those hurting both domestically and internationally. Fans can drop off shoes, both new and used, into the Soles4Souls collection box located near the concession stand at Firestone Fieldhouse, or among several additional boxes placed throughout Pepperdine’s Malibu campus.
ROSTER — The Waves have just five players that saw action last season. Only four of them were on the roster at season’s end, and because of injuries, only two of them played in the 2007-08 season finale at the WCC Tournament. The five returners accounted for 40.2% of last year’s scoring (950/2,365), 32.0% of the rebounding (357/1,117), 59.6% of the assists (239/401), 16.4% of the blocked shots (21/128) and 57.9% of the steals (183/316). To replenish the roster, the Waves added 10 newcomers. Two are sophomores that are junior college transfers, six are scholarship freshmen and two others are walk-on freshmen. Of the 15 players, 12 are underclassmen. The breakdown is three seniors, zero juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen.
AGRE OUT — Sophomore center Denis Agre, in his first season at Pepperdine after transferring from Central Arizona College, became academically ineligible at the start of the semester. He averaged 3.2 points and 3.6 rebounds and started seven of the first 16 games.
RETURNERS — Three players — senior Rico Tucker (10.7 ppg last season), sophomore Mychel Thompson (8.1 ppg) and senior Ryan Holmes (6.0 ppg) — were starters in 2007-08. Senior Mike Hornbuckle (5.5 ppg) saw extended playing time last season and started half of the 32 games. Sophomore Gus Clardy (1.3 ppg), a walk-on, appeared in 16 games last season.
NEWCOMERS — When Tom Asbury was hired in February 2008, he was given a very late start to the recruiting process. The three recruits that signed letters-of-intent with the previous coaching staff were given their release, and several players transferred following the season. With many holes to fill, Asbury and his staff utilized their contacts, identified the best of the remaining unsigned talent that fit their needs and put together a very impressive group under the circumstances. The Sporting News ranked Pepperdine’s recruiting class #2 in the West Coast Conference.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE — The home schedule should have been much more palatable to Waves fans in 2008-09. A year after playing just three non-conference home games, Pepperdine supporters were treated to eight this time around, including ones against such big-time opponents as Brigham Young and Georgia Tech, and in-state rivals such as Cal State Bakersfield, UC Irvine and Pacific. A few of the road games were notable too, including contests at Pac-10 foes Arizona State and USC. The Waves also took part in the Rainbow Classic in Hawaii right after Christmas.
TELEVISION — The Waves will appear on television several times once again in 2008-09. Six games will be shown locally (Nov. 21 at Arizona State on FSN Prime Ticket, Jan. 10 vs. Loyola Marymount on ESPNU, Jan. 22 vs. Gonzaga on FSN West, Feb. 14 vs. San Diego on FSN West, Feb. 21 at Gonzaga on ESPNU and Feb. 26 vs. Saint Mary’s on FSN West). A few other games will be televised out of market (Nov. 21 at New Mexico State on FSN Arizona, Dec. 28 vs. Buffalo on KFVE in Hawaii, Jan. 17 at Saint Mary’s on Comcast Sports Net California).
GAME #21, WCC GAME #6 - SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: The Waves enter the fourth week of West Coast Conference play with an 4-17 overall record and a 1-4 mark in league action. Pepperdine enters its game with USF on a four-game losing streak and is winless on the road this season at 0-8. The Waves average 62.9 points on .391 shooting, including a .320 clip from beyond the arc, to go along with 35.8 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Keion Bell keys
Pepperdine at both ends of the floor, averaging 11.4 points and 2.1 assists. Sophomore forward Mychel Thompson chips in 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds, while freshman forward Taylor Darby adds 6.3 points with a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Coaching veteran Tom Asbury is at the midway point of his seventh overall season and second stint with the Waves. Asbury previously guided Pepperdine for six seasons and propelled the Waves to five postseason trips and three WCC titles while posting a 66-18 record from 1989-94. Asbury then spent five seasons as the head coach at Kansas State (1995-00) and was an assistant at Alabama from 2004-07.
TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 1/26/09):Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG
USF 67.5 -2.8 .443 .363 .681 30.8 12.5 14.0 5.7 2.4
PEP 62.9 -13.5 .391 .320 .702 35.8 11.1 17.4 6.7 3.5
PEPPERDINE PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/26/09)G. #3 Keion Bell, 6-3, 180, Fr. (11.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)G. #31 Ryan Holmes, 6-1, 185, Sr. (4.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)C. #44 Corbin Moore, 6-10, 240, Fr. (2.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)F. #15 Mychel Thompson, 6-7, 200, So. (11.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg)F. #32 Taylor Darby, 6-7, 210, Fr. (6.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg)
2007-08 MEETINGS: at USF 88, Pepperdine 63 (3/3/08); USF 85, at Pepperdine 82 (2/2/08)
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 64-45/USF won six
ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:Television Broadcast: None Radio Broadcast: Green 960 Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast) GameTracker: Yes Pepperdine Official Website: PepperdineSports.com
Santa Clara hosts LMU, Pepperdine this week
The Broncos look to get back on track in WCC play.
Jan. 28, 2009
Pepperdine at both ends of the floor, averaging 11.4 points and 2.1 assists. Sophomore forward Mychel Thompson chips in 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds, while freshman forward Taylor Darby adds 6.3 points with a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Coaching veteran Tom Asbury is at the midway point of his seventh overall season and second stint with the Waves. Asbury previously guided Pepperdine for six seasons and propelled the Waves to five postseason trips and three WCC titles while posting a 66-18 record from 1989-94. Asbury then spent five seasons as the head coach at Kansas State (1995-00) and was an assistant at Alabama from 2004-07.
TEAM COMPARISONS - 2008-09 SEASON - (As of 1/26/09):Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPGUSF 67.5 -2.8 .443 .363 .681 30.8 12.5 14.0 5.7 2.4
PEP 62.9 -13.5 .391 .320 .702 35.8 11.1 17.4 6.7 3.5
PEPPERDINE PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/26/09)G. #3 Keion Bell, 6-3, 180, Fr. (11.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.1 apg)G. #31 Ryan Holmes, 6-1, 185, Sr. (4.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 1.3 apg)C. #44 Corbin Moore, 6-10, 240, Fr. (2.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.4 apg)F. #15 Mychel Thompson, 6-7, 200, So. (11.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg)F. #32 Taylor Darby, 6-7, 210, Fr. (6.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg)2007-08 MEETINGS: at USF 88, Pepperdine 63 (3/3/08); USF 85, at Pepperdine 82 (2/2/08)
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 64-45/USF won sixON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:Television Broadcast: None Radio Broadcast: Green 960 Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast) GameTracker: Yes Pepperdine Official Website: PepperdineSports.com
Santa Clara hosts LMU, Pepperdine this week
The Broncos look to get back on track in WCC play.
Jan. 28, 2009
After defeating Houston Baptist 85-59 on Sunday, Santa Clara jumps back into WCC play when it hosts LMU on Thurs., Jan. 29 at 7 pm and then Pepperdine at 7 pm on Sat., Jan. 31.
The Broncos are 9-13 and 1-4 in the WCC. The Broncos have won two in a row with their 70-54 win over San Francisco on Jan. 23 and then their 85-59 victory over Houston Baptist on Jan. 25. It was their seventh straight win over the Dons. John Bryant was named WCC Player of the Week after he averaged 19 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks last week.
Against LMU, SCU had a nine-game winning streak in the series between 1999-02. The two split the season series last season with each winning in the other's gym and LMU swept the season series in 2006-07, winning two games by a total of four points.
Head Coach Bill Bayno, who had been serving a leave of absence since Nov. 24, officially resigned from the position, Athletics Director Dr. William Husak announced Jan. 12. Husak also announced that Max Good, who has been the acting head coach during Bayno's leave, has agreed to a multiple-year deal to be the head coach of the Lions. Good is 1-16 thus far and 242-240 in his 15th season as a head coach. The Lions are 1-20 and 0-5 in the WCC this season. LMU is 0-11 on the road this year. They are led by Vernon Teel (14.3 ppg), Kevin Young (7.0 rpg) and Jarred DuBois (2.9 apg).
Listen up
The SCU-LMU game will be broadcast at 7 pm via the Bronco Radio Network on both KDOW 1220 AM and Broncos All-Access on the web at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 pm. Anthony Passarelli is in his second season as the Santa Clara men's basketball play-by-play announcer after six seasons of handling those duties for SCU women's basketball.
In addition, head coach Kerry Keating can be heard on KDOW 1220 AM on Sunday evenings from 8:30 - 9 pm in his radio spotlight on The Sports Ramble. The Sports Ramble, hosted by Chetan Chaudhari, runs on KDOW 1220 AM from 8 - 10 pm on Sunday evenings. If you are out of the listening area Bronco fans, KDOW is streamed online live at www.1220kdow.com so go to their website and listen live!
The Broncos are 9-13 and 1-4 in the WCC. The Broncos have won two in a row with their 70-54 win over San Francisco on Jan. 23 and then their 85-59 victory over Houston Baptist on Jan. 25. It was their seventh straight win over the Dons. John Bryant was named WCC Player of the Week after he averaged 19 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks last week.
Against LMU, SCU had a nine-game winning streak in the series between 1999-02. The two split the season series last season with each winning in the other's gym and LMU swept the season series in 2006-07, winning two games by a total of four points.Head Coach Bill Bayno, who had been serving a leave of absence since Nov. 24, officially resigned from the position, Athletics Director Dr. William Husak announced Jan. 12. Husak also announced that Max Good, who has been the acting head coach during Bayno's leave, has agreed to a multiple-year deal to be the head coach of the Lions. Good is 1-16 thus far and 242-240 in his 15th season as a head coach. The Lions are 1-20 and 0-5 in the WCC this season. LMU is 0-11 on the road this year. They are led by Vernon Teel (14.3 ppg), Kevin Young (7.0 rpg) and Jarred DuBois (2.9 apg).
Listen up
The SCU-LMU game will be broadcast at 7 pm via the Bronco Radio Network on both KDOW 1220 AM and Broncos All-Access on the web at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. The pregame show will begin at 6:30 pm. Anthony Passarelli is in his second season as the Santa Clara men's basketball play-by-play announcer after six seasons of handling those duties for SCU women's basketball.
In addition, head coach Kerry Keating can be heard on KDOW 1220 AM on Sunday evenings from 8:30 - 9 pm in his radio spotlight on The Sports Ramble. The Sports Ramble, hosted by Chetan Chaudhari, runs on KDOW 1220 AM from 8 - 10 pm on Sunday evenings. If you are out of the listening area Bronco fans, KDOW is streamed online live at www.1220kdow.com so go to their website and listen live!Pepperdine (4-17) At San Francisco (8-12)
Thursday, January 29th, 10:00 p.m. (et)
FACTS & STATS: Site: War Memorial Gymnasium (5,300) -- San Francisco, California. Television:None. Home Record: Pepperdine 3-8, USF 5-20. Away Record: Pepperdine 0-8, USF 2-10. Neutral Record: Pepperdine 1-1, USF 1-0. Conference Record: Pepperdine 1-4, USF 0-5. Series Record: San Francisco leads, 64-45.
GAME NOTES: The Pepperdine Waves get a three-game road trip started tonight, as they square off against the San Francisco Dons in West Coast Conference play at War Memorial Gymnasium. The Waves have had no success in true road games this season, going winless at 0-8. Overall, Pepperdine sits a dismal 4-17 and it brings a four-game losing streak into tonight's bout. Most recently, the Waves were defeated by the University of Portland, 73-58, on Saturday, dropping them to just 1-4 in conference play. As for the Dons, they own an even worse record n the WCC, having gone 0-5 thus far. The team is currently riding a five-game slide and that includes a 70-54 setback at Santa Clara on Friday. Now at just 8-12 overall, USF returns back home, where it has gone 5-2 following two straight losses. The Dons lead the head-to-head series with Pepperdine, 64-45, and they have won the last six meetings.
The Waves are turning the ball over 17.3 times per game and are shooting a sub par 39.1 percent from the floor and those are two big reasons for their struggles this season. Keion Bell tops the roster in scoring at 11.4 ppg, but he has also committed a whopping 86 turnovers on the campaign. Mychel Thompson nips at his heels with 11.1 ppg and he is a 36.1 percent three-point shooter. In the team's last game, Pepperdine committed 16 turnovers and shot only 39.0 percent from the field in a loss to Portland. Taylor Darby and Bell each scored 12 points to pace the team and they also combined for 12 rebounds.
The Dons are generating 67.5 ppg on the season, but in conference play, they are scoring a mere 53.8 ppg and shooting a dismal 35.7 percent from the floor. Dior Lowhorn, though, has been consistent throughout the season and he heads the squad in scoring (19.8 ppg) as well as rebounding (6.0 rpg). Manny Quezada chips in with 10.8 ppg and he has been in charge of feeding Lowhorn, dishing out a team-best 3.1 apg. In the club's prior outing, USF shot a horrific 32.1 percent from the field, including a poor 6-of-23 showing from downtown, as it was downed by Santa Clara. Kwame Vaughn guided the club in the setback with 14 points, while Lowhorn had 13 points.
USF has struggled greatly of late, but with the crowd behind it tonight and a big game from Lowhorn, the Dons should be able to get the job done against a young Pepperdine squad.
Predicted Outcome
San Francisco 72, Pepperdine 62
Thursday, January 29th, 10:00 p.m. (et)
FACTS & STATS: Site: War Memorial Gymnasium (5,300) -- San Francisco, California. Television:None. Home Record: Pepperdine 3-8, USF 5-20. Away Record: Pepperdine 0-8, USF 2-10. Neutral Record: Pepperdine 1-1, USF 1-0. Conference Record: Pepperdine 1-4, USF 0-5. Series Record: San Francisco leads, 64-45.
GAME NOTES: The Pepperdine Waves get a three-game road trip started tonight, as they square off against the San Francisco Dons in West Coast Conference play at War Memorial Gymnasium. The Waves have had no success in true road games this season, going winless at 0-8. Overall, Pepperdine sits a dismal 4-17 and it brings a four-game losing streak into tonight's bout. Most recently, the Waves were defeated by the University of Portland, 73-58, on Saturday, dropping them to just 1-4 in conference play. As for the Dons, they own an even worse record n the WCC, having gone 0-5 thus far. The team is currently riding a five-game slide and that includes a 70-54 setback at Santa Clara on Friday. Now at just 8-12 overall, USF returns back home, where it has gone 5-2 following two straight losses. The Dons lead the head-to-head series with Pepperdine, 64-45, and they have won the last six meetings.
The Waves are turning the ball over 17.3 times per game and are shooting a sub par 39.1 percent from the floor and those are two big reasons for their struggles this season. Keion Bell tops the roster in scoring at 11.4 ppg, but he has also committed a whopping 86 turnovers on the campaign. Mychel Thompson nips at his heels with 11.1 ppg and he is a 36.1 percent three-point shooter. In the team's last game, Pepperdine committed 16 turnovers and shot only 39.0 percent from the field in a loss to Portland. Taylor Darby and Bell each scored 12 points to pace the team and they also combined for 12 rebounds.
The Dons are generating 67.5 ppg on the season, but in conference play, they are scoring a mere 53.8 ppg and shooting a dismal 35.7 percent from the floor. Dior Lowhorn, though, has been consistent throughout the season and he heads the squad in scoring (19.8 ppg) as well as rebounding (6.0 rpg). Manny Quezada chips in with 10.8 ppg and he has been in charge of feeding Lowhorn, dishing out a team-best 3.1 apg. In the club's prior outing, USF shot a horrific 32.1 percent from the field, including a poor 6-of-23 showing from downtown, as it was downed by Santa Clara. Kwame Vaughn guided the club in the setback with 14 points, while Lowhorn had 13 points.
USF has struggled greatly of late, but with the crowd behind it tonight and a big game from Lowhorn, the Dons should be able to get the job done against a young Pepperdine squad.
Predicted Outcome
San Francisco 72, Pepperdine 62
Pepperdine 69, San Francisco 67
Updated: January 30, 2009, 12:37 AM EST
Updated: January 30, 2009, 12:37 AM EST
FRANCISCO (AP) - Freshman guard Keion Bell set a new career-high Thursday night with 32 points to lead Pepperdine to a 69-67 victory over host San Francisco, the Waves' first win over the Dons in almost four years.
Bell hit 13 of 14 shots from the field, including all four 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds. Ryan Holmes added nine points and five assists for the Waves (5-17, 2-4 WCC), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Pepperdine had last beaten USF on Feb. 3, 2005.
A season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds from Dion Lowhorn, the WCC's leading scorer, were not enough to prevent the Dons (8-13, 0-6) from suffering their sixth straight loss, all in conference play.
Pepperdine jumped to a 16-3 lead as USF went 0-for-4 from the floor with four turnovers in its first 10 possessions. The Waves got four easy layups and dunks during the run, which included seven points from Bell.
The Dons slowly clawed back with solid man-to-man defense and managed to tie the score at 25 when Blake Wallace canned a jumper with 2:41 left in the half. Lowhorn had 12 points before intermission to drive the comeback.
A driving layup by Kwame Vaughn at the 14:10 mark put USF up 43-42, the Dons' first lead since the opening minute. The teams proceeded to trade the lead three more times in rapid succession before Pepperdine went on a 9-1 run.
The Waves' aggressive defense, which constantly double-teamed Lowhorn in the paint, forced USF away from their star for a time. But the junior popped outside for a 3-pointer at the 1:30 mark to finally get the Dons within three points, at 66-63.
Pepperdine responded with an 11-foot right baseline jumper from Mychel Thompson with 1 second remaining on the shot clock, and then held on despite missing two of three free throws in the final 27.6 seconds.
Bell hit 13 of 14 shots from the field, including all four 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds. Ryan Holmes added nine points and five assists for the Waves (5-17, 2-4 WCC), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Pepperdine had last beaten USF on Feb. 3, 2005.
A season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds from Dion Lowhorn, the WCC's leading scorer, were not enough to prevent the Dons (8-13, 0-6) from suffering their sixth straight loss, all in conference play.
Pepperdine jumped to a 16-3 lead as USF went 0-for-4 from the floor with four turnovers in its first 10 possessions. The Waves got four easy layups and dunks during the run, which included seven points from Bell.
The Dons slowly clawed back with solid man-to-man defense and managed to tie the score at 25 when Blake Wallace canned a jumper with 2:41 left in the half. Lowhorn had 12 points before intermission to drive the comeback.
A driving layup by Kwame Vaughn at the 14:10 mark put USF up 43-42, the Dons' first lead since the opening minute. The teams proceeded to trade the lead three more times in rapid succession before Pepperdine went on a 9-1 run.
The Waves' aggressive defense, which constantly double-teamed Lowhorn in the paint, forced USF away from their star for a time. But the junior popped outside for a 3-pointer at the 1:30 mark to finally get the Dons within three points, at 66-63.
Pepperdine responded with an 11-foot right baseline jumper from Mychel Thompson with 1 second remaining on the shot clock, and then held on despite missing two of three free throws in the final 27.6 seconds.
© 2009 Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Waves Crash Don Win Streak in Series
San Francisco hadn't lost to Pepperdine in four years before tonight's 69-67 heartbreaker.
Jan. 29, 2009
Final Stats
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Freshman guard Keion Bell set a new career-high Thursday night with 32 points, leading Pepperdine to a 69-67 victory over host San Francisco for the Waves' first win over the Dons in four years.
Bell hit 13 of 14 shots from the field, including all four 3-pointers, and provided four steals and three rebounds. Ryan Holmes added nine points and five assists for the Waves (5-17, 2-4 WCC), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Dior Lowhorn's season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds were not enough to prevent USF (8-13, 0-6) from suffering its sixth straight loss, all in WCC play.
San Francisco hadn't lost to Pepperdine in four years before tonight's 69-67 heartbreaker.
Jan. 29, 2009
Final Stats
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Freshman guard Keion Bell set a new career-high Thursday night with 32 points, leading Pepperdine to a 69-67 victory over host San Francisco for the Waves' first win over the Dons in four years.
Bell hit 13 of 14 shots from the field, including all four 3-pointers, and provided four steals and three rebounds. Ryan Holmes added nine points and five assists for the Waves (5-17, 2-4 WCC), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Dior Lowhorn's season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds were not enough to prevent USF (8-13, 0-6) from suffering its sixth straight loss, all in WCC play.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Freshman guard Keion Bell set a new career-high Thursday night with 32 points to lead Pepperdine to a 69-67 victory over host San Francisco, the Waves' first win over the Dons in almost four years.
Bell hit 13 of 14 shots from the field, including all four 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds. Ryan Holmes added nine points and five assists for the Waves (5-17, 2-4 WCC), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Pepperdine had last beaten USF on Feb. 3, 2005.
A season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds from Dion Lowhorn, the WCC's leading scorer, were not enough to prevent the Dons (8-13, 0-6) from suffering their sixth straight loss, all in conference play.
Pepperdine jumped to a 16-3 lead as USF went 0-for-4 from the floor with four turnovers in its first 10 possessions. The Waves got four easy layups and dunks during the run, which included seven points from Bell.
The Dons slowly clawed back with solid man-to-man defense and managed to tie the score at 25 when Blake Wallace canned a jumper with 2:41 left in the half. Lowhorn had 12 points before intermission to drive the comeback.
A driving layup by Kwame Vaughn at the 14:10 mark put USF up 43-42, the Dons' first lead since the opening minute. The teams proceeded to trade the lead three more times in rapid succession before Pepperdine went on a 9-1 run.
The Waves' aggressive defense, which constantly double-teamed Lowhorn in the paint, forced USF away from their star for a time. But the junior popped outside for a 3-pointer at the 1:30 mark to finally get the Dons within three points, at 66-63.
Pepperdine responded with an 11-foot right baseline jumper from Mychel Thompson with 1 second remaining on the shot clock, and then held on despite missing two of three free throws in the final 27.6 seconds.
Bell hit 13 of 14 shots from the field, including all four 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds. Ryan Holmes added nine points and five assists for the Waves (5-17, 2-4 WCC), who snapped a four-game losing streak. Pepperdine had last beaten USF on Feb. 3, 2005.
A season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds from Dion Lowhorn, the WCC's leading scorer, were not enough to prevent the Dons (8-13, 0-6) from suffering their sixth straight loss, all in conference play.
Pepperdine jumped to a 16-3 lead as USF went 0-for-4 from the floor with four turnovers in its first 10 possessions. The Waves got four easy layups and dunks during the run, which included seven points from Bell.
The Dons slowly clawed back with solid man-to-man defense and managed to tie the score at 25 when Blake Wallace canned a jumper with 2:41 left in the half. Lowhorn had 12 points before intermission to drive the comeback.
A driving layup by Kwame Vaughn at the 14:10 mark put USF up 43-42, the Dons' first lead since the opening minute. The teams proceeded to trade the lead three more times in rapid succession before Pepperdine went on a 9-1 run.
The Waves' aggressive defense, which constantly double-teamed Lowhorn in the paint, forced USF away from their star for a time. But the junior popped outside for a 3-pointer at the 1:30 mark to finally get the Dons within three points, at 66-63.
Pepperdine responded with an 11-foot right baseline jumper from Mychel Thompson with 1 second remaining on the shot clock, and then held on despite missing two of three free throws in the final 27.6 seconds.
Sutton Wins 800th at Waves' Expense
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 02/02/2008
Pepperdine-San Francisco Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. – All seven Pepperdine men’s basketball players that saw action scored in double-figures, but that wasn’t enough to stop San Francisco interim coach Eddie Sutton from recording his 800th career victory as the Dons beat the Waves, 85-82, on Saturday night in a West Coast Conference game at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves (7-15, 1-5) held a 19-point lead early in the second half, but the Dons (6-15, 2-4) battled back and Danny Cavic’s three-pointer gave USF an 83-82 lead with 14.9 seconds to play. Pepperdine missed three-point attempts on each of its final two possessions, including one at the buzzer.
Freshman guard Tyrone Shelley (San Diego, Calif./Crawford HS) had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead Pepperdine. Junior guard Ryan Holmes (Phoenix, Ariz./Millennium HS/Phoenix CC) and freshman forward Malcolm Thomas (San Diego, Calif./Crawford HS) each scored 12 points. Freshman guards Jon Reed (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS) and Mychel Thompson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Stoneridge Prep) each scored 11 points. Juniors guards Mike Hornbuckle (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS/Azusa Pacific) and Rico Tucker (San Diego, Calif./University HS/Minnesota) each had 10 points.
Thompson narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
The Waves dressed only nine players (none of the nine saw action with Pepperdine last season) and only seven got into the game.
Pepperdine led by as many as 15 points in the first half at 32-17 and went into the break with a 42-30 lead. After back-to-back three-pointers by Shelley and Thompson, the Waves took a 53-34 lead with 17:15 left in the game.
USF’s Dior Lowhorn took over from there, scoring 22 of his game-high 28 points in the final 16 ½ minutes. His lay-up tied the game for the first time since it began at 77-77 with 4:08 to play, and the Dons took their first lead at 78-77 after a Christian Hernandez free throw with 3:03 to play.
Tied 80-80, a driving lay-up by Tucker gave Pepperdine its final lead at 82-80 with 1:13 left, but Cavic’s three-pointer put USF in front for good. Cavic scored 23 points in the game. After a Pepperdine miss, Hernandez hit two more free throws with 2.8 seconds left. The Waves had a good look on their final three-point shot but it was just a bit off.
There were three ties and five lead changes, all in the final five minutes.
Pepperdine slightly outshot the Dons, 49.2% to 47.8%, but USF hit 61.8% of its shots in the second half (21-for-34).
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 02/02/2008
Pepperdine-San Francisco Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. – All seven Pepperdine men’s basketball players that saw action scored in double-figures, but that wasn’t enough to stop San Francisco interim coach Eddie Sutton from recording his 800th career victory as the Dons beat the Waves, 85-82, on Saturday night in a West Coast Conference game at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Waves (7-15, 1-5) held a 19-point lead early in the second half, but the Dons (6-15, 2-4) battled back and Danny Cavic’s three-pointer gave USF an 83-82 lead with 14.9 seconds to play. Pepperdine missed three-point attempts on each of its final two possessions, including one at the buzzer.
Freshman guard Tyrone Shelley (San Diego, Calif./Crawford HS) had 16 points and seven rebounds to lead Pepperdine. Junior guard Ryan Holmes (Phoenix, Ariz./Millennium HS/Phoenix CC) and freshman forward Malcolm Thomas (San Diego, Calif./Crawford HS) each scored 12 points. Freshman guards Jon Reed (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS) and Mychel Thompson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Stoneridge Prep) each scored 11 points. Juniors guards Mike Hornbuckle (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS/Azusa Pacific) and Rico Tucker (San Diego, Calif./University HS/Minnesota) each had 10 points.
Thompson narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds.
The Waves dressed only nine players (none of the nine saw action with Pepperdine last season) and only seven got into the game.
Pepperdine led by as many as 15 points in the first half at 32-17 and went into the break with a 42-30 lead. After back-to-back three-pointers by Shelley and Thompson, the Waves took a 53-34 lead with 17:15 left in the game.
USF’s Dior Lowhorn took over from there, scoring 22 of his game-high 28 points in the final 16 ½ minutes. His lay-up tied the game for the first time since it began at 77-77 with 4:08 to play, and the Dons took their first lead at 78-77 after a Christian Hernandez free throw with 3:03 to play.
Tied 80-80, a driving lay-up by Tucker gave Pepperdine its final lead at 82-80 with 1:13 left, but Cavic’s three-pointer put USF in front for good. Cavic scored 23 points in the game. After a Pepperdine miss, Hernandez hit two more free throws with 2.8 seconds left. The Waves had a good look on their final three-point shot but it was just a bit off.
There were three ties and five lead changes, all in the final five minutes.
Pepperdine slightly outshot the Dons, 49.2% to 47.8%, but USF hit 61.8% of its shots in the second half (21-for-34).
