Men's Basketball Defeats Utah, 76-64
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 12/23/2009
Pepperdine-Utah Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. - Junior forward Mychel Thompson matched his career high with 25 points and the Pepperdine men's basketball team controlled the boards as the Waves posted their most impressive win of the season, a 76-64 victory against Utah on Wednesday night in Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine never trailed in the game and improved to 4-10 overall with the help of a +18 rebounding margin (45-27). The Waves did an excellent job getting to the foul line, where they made 27 of 33 (81.8%). Utah (5-7), a 2009 NCAA Tournament team, actually outshot the Waves 41.1%-38.6%, but was just 10-for-15 with its free throws.
Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) had 15 second-half points as the Waves built on a 34-25 halftime lead. Pepperdine also got 18 points and four assists from sophomore guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) and 17 points and nine rebounds from sophomore guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS).
Sophomore center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) posted season highs in several categories, including points (nine), rebounds (13, a career high) and minutes (33).
"I'm excited at how focused our guys came out, especially with only one day to prepare," Pepperdine associate head coach Marty Wilson said. "In other games we've gotten up by 10 or 12 but we started to do things out of character. But we stayed on track tonight and I liked our mindset."
Pepperdine quickly built a double-digit lead at 16-5 with 13 1/2 minutes to play in the first half after Thompson hit his second three-pointer. Thanks to an 8-0 run that included back-to-back baskets by Bell, Pepperdine took its largest lead of 17 points at 30-13 with 3:52 left in the half.
Utah would close the second half on a 10-2 run, however, cutting Pepperdine's lead at the break to nine at 34-25.
Pepperdine pushed its lead back up to 12 a couple of times early in the second half, including at 47-35 with 12 1/2 minutes to go after a jumper by Thompson. But Utah scored the next six points to cut the lead in half at 47-41 with 9 1/2 minutes to go. The Utes eventually got the lead down to five points at 56-51 with six minutes left after a three-pointer by Marshall Henderson.
But Pepperdine recovered by scoring the next seven points, three by Moore, to make it a 63-51 lead with less than four minutes to play. In the final two-plus minutes, the Waves iced the game by going 11-for-14 from the foul line.
"It was nice to get back on the winning track," Moore said. "It feels good to beat a good team. We played really well on the defensive end. Because we defended well and rebounded well, that let us keep our lead throughout the game."
It was Pepperdine's second win over Utah in seven meetings. The only previous victory came in the 1979 NCAA Tournament.
The Waves now take a week off from action and next play at Georgia on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's broadcast at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/?SPSID=90183&SPID=10851&DB_OEM_ID=18500 with a subscription to Wave Casts.
Cal Falls To Utah 37-27 at Poinsettia Bowl
Shane Vereen scored 2 touchdowns.
Dec. 23, 2009
Final Stats Quotes Photo Gallery
SAN DIEGO (AP) -Jordan Wynn threw for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns to rally No. 23 Utah from an early two-touchdown deficit to a 37-27 victory over California in the Poinsettia Bowl on Wednesday night
The Utes scored 27 straight points to win their ninth straight bowl game, the longest current streak in the country and tied for the second-longest ever. Florida State won 11 straight from 1985-96 and Southern California won nine in a row from 1923-45. The Golden Bears, in a bowl game for the school-record seventh straight year, had their four-game postseason winning streak snapped.
Wynn, a true freshman, improved to 3-0 at Qualcomm Stadium, including two section championships while the starter at suburban Oceanside High. He graduated last December and enrolled at Utah in January, allowing him to participate in spring ball. Wynn completed 26 of 36 passes and improved to 3-2 as the Utes' starter.
Utah's defense came up big, too. The Utes sacked Cal's Kevin Riley five times and intercepted him twice, with linebacker Stevenson Sylvester returning a tipped pass 27 yards for a touchdown late in the game. Riley also lost a fumble.
"It's a great feeling, especially at home, to play the way I did and get a bowl win," Wynn said.
"The defense had a great night. It's kind of been the story all year. Our defense is solid. We rely on them to keep us in the game." Shane Vereen, who scored twice, was the seventh Cal back to gain more than 100 yards in a bowl, finishing with 122 yards on 20 carries.
Utah (10-3) looked overmatched after Cal (8-5) scored twice in 11 seconds midway through the first quarter. Vereen scored on a 36-yard run and Eddie Young intercepted Wynn on the first play of Utah's next drive and returned it 31 yards for a score.
After that it was all Utah, which a year ago beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
"Our coaches told us to calm down," Wynn said about the quick deficit. "It was early in the game. We knew there was a lot of time left to just slow it down and make plays and claw ourselves back in the game."
Utah's defense shut down Cal and Utah scored on its last four possessions of the first half.
Wynn threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kendrick Moeai late in the first quarter and Joe Phillips' 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter pulled Utah to 14-10.
Wynn's 15-yard scoring pass to Moeai gave Utah the lead and his 21-yarder to Jereme Brooks made it 24-14 at halftime.
Riley fumbled early in the third quarter when he was sacked by Lamar Chapman, with Mike Wright recovering at the 14. That set up Phillips' 29-yard field goal for a 27-14 lead.
Cal finally scored again on a 1-yard run by Vereen with 39 seconds left in the third quarter to pull the Golden Bears to 27-21 before Phillips kicked a 25-yard field goal. Riley was 20 of 36 for 214 yards and one touchdown. Cal had only six first downs in the first half.
What a night it was for Simi Valley's Jackson twins
December 24, 2009
Now we know the best reason to have twins -- so you can get your revenge.
The Jackson twins from Simi Valley, Langston and Lorne, had a memorable Wednesday night playing against Utah.
First, Langston's California team lost to Utah in football, 37-27. Langston is a reserve running back. But Lorne's Pepperdine basketball team then beat Utah, 76-64, with Lorne scoring a career-high 18 points.
One twin avenges another. What a night.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Photo: Pepperdine's Lorne Jackson tries to get past BYU's Noah Hartsock, left, and Lee Cummard during a game on Nov. 18, 2008. Credit: Jeff Lewis / Associated Press
latimes.com/sports/la-sp-poinsettia-bowl24-2009dec24,0,6596246.story
latimes.com
POINSETTIA BOWL
Utah storms back to beat California, 37-27
Golden Bears watch a 14-0 lead evaporate as the Mountain West hands the Pac-10 another bowl loss.
By Ben Bolch
December 24, 2009
Reporting from San Diego
Robert Johnson might have provided his team with the perfect recruiting slogan."You come to Utah," the senior free safety from Los Angeles said, "you win bowl rings."Johnson collected his third piece of postseason jewelry Wednesday evening at Qualcomm Stadium after Utah scored 27 unanswered points to rally from an early two-touchdown deficit and overwhelm California, 37-27, in the Poinsettia Bowl. Freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn completed 26 of 36 passes for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns for the Utes (10-3), who stretched the nation's longest bowl winning streak to nine games. Utah tied USC for the second-longest bowl winning streak in NCAA history, behind only the 11 consecutive postseason victories recorded by Florida State in 1985-96. "I believe our guys outwork the opponents in the bowl situation," said Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham, who improved to 5-0 in postseason games. "They understand that a bowl game is a chance to win another ballgame, and our guys have done that for a lot of years now.
Courtesy: Pepperdine Sports Information
Release: 12/23/2009
Pepperdine-Utah Box Score
MALIBU, Calif. - Junior forward Mychel Thompson matched his career high with 25 points and the Pepperdine men's basketball team controlled the boards as the Waves posted their most impressive win of the season, a 76-64 victory against Utah on Wednesday night in Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine never trailed in the game and improved to 4-10 overall with the help of a +18 rebounding margin (45-27). The Waves did an excellent job getting to the foul line, where they made 27 of 33 (81.8%). Utah (5-7), a 2009 NCAA Tournament team, actually outshot the Waves 41.1%-38.6%, but was just 10-for-15 with its free throws.
Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) had 15 second-half points as the Waves built on a 34-25 halftime lead. Pepperdine also got 18 points and four assists from sophomore guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) and 17 points and nine rebounds from sophomore guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS).
Sophomore center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) posted season highs in several categories, including points (nine), rebounds (13, a career high) and minutes (33).
"I'm excited at how focused our guys came out, especially with only one day to prepare," Pepperdine associate head coach Marty Wilson said. "In other games we've gotten up by 10 or 12 but we started to do things out of character. But we stayed on track tonight and I liked our mindset."
Pepperdine quickly built a double-digit lead at 16-5 with 13 1/2 minutes to play in the first half after Thompson hit his second three-pointer. Thanks to an 8-0 run that included back-to-back baskets by Bell, Pepperdine took its largest lead of 17 points at 30-13 with 3:52 left in the half.Utah would close the second half on a 10-2 run, however, cutting Pepperdine's lead at the break to nine at 34-25.
Pepperdine pushed its lead back up to 12 a couple of times early in the second half, including at 47-35 with 12 1/2 minutes to go after a jumper by Thompson. But Utah scored the next six points to cut the lead in half at 47-41 with 9 1/2 minutes to go. The Utes eventually got the lead down to five points at 56-51 with six minutes left after a three-pointer by Marshall Henderson.But Pepperdine recovered by scoring the next seven points, three by Moore, to make it a 63-51 lead with less than four minutes to play. In the final two-plus minutes, the Waves iced the game by going 11-for-14 from the foul line.
"It was nice to get back on the winning track," Moore said. "It feels good to beat a good team. We played really well on the defensive end. Because we defended well and rebounded well, that let us keep our lead throughout the game."
It was Pepperdine's second win over Utah in seven meetings. The only previous victory came in the 1979 NCAA Tournament.
The Waves now take a week off from action and next play at Georgia on Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's broadcast at http://www.pepperdinesports.com/?SPSID=90183&SPID=10851&DB_OEM_ID=18500 with a subscription to Wave Casts.
Cal Falls To Utah 37-27 at Poinsettia Bowl
Shane Vereen scored 2 touchdowns.
Dec. 23, 2009
Final Stats Quotes Photo Gallery
SAN DIEGO (AP) -Jordan Wynn threw for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns to rally No. 23 Utah from an early two-touchdown deficit to a 37-27 victory over California in the Poinsettia Bowl on Wednesday nightThe Utes scored 27 straight points to win their ninth straight bowl game, the longest current streak in the country and tied for the second-longest ever. Florida State won 11 straight from 1985-96 and Southern California won nine in a row from 1923-45. The Golden Bears, in a bowl game for the school-record seventh straight year, had their four-game postseason winning streak snapped.
Wynn, a true freshman, improved to 3-0 at Qualcomm Stadium, including two section championships while the starter at suburban Oceanside High. He graduated last December and enrolled at Utah in January, allowing him to participate in spring ball. Wynn completed 26 of 36 passes and improved to 3-2 as the Utes' starter.Utah's defense came up big, too. The Utes sacked Cal's Kevin Riley five times and intercepted him twice, with linebacker Stevenson Sylvester returning a tipped pass 27 yards for a touchdown late in the game. Riley also lost a fumble.
"It's a great feeling, especially at home, to play the way I did and get a bowl win," Wynn said.
"The defense had a great night. It's kind of been the story all year. Our defense is solid. We rely on them to keep us in the game." Shane Vereen, who scored twice, was the seventh Cal back to gain more than 100 yards in a bowl, finishing with 122 yards on 20 carries.Utah (10-3) looked overmatched after Cal (8-5) scored twice in 11 seconds midway through the first quarter. Vereen scored on a 36-yard run and Eddie Young intercepted Wynn on the first play of Utah's next drive and returned it 31 yards for a score.
After that it was all Utah, which a year ago beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
"Our coaches told us to calm down," Wynn said about the quick deficit. "It was early in the game. We knew there was a lot of time left to just slow it down and make plays and claw ourselves back in the game."
Utah's defense shut down Cal and Utah scored on its last four possessions of the first half.Wynn threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kendrick Moeai late in the first quarter and Joe Phillips' 28-yard field goal early in the second quarter pulled Utah to 14-10.
Wynn's 15-yard scoring pass to Moeai gave Utah the lead and his 21-yarder to Jereme Brooks made it 24-14 at halftime.
Riley fumbled early in the third quarter when he was sacked by Lamar Chapman, with Mike Wright recovering at the 14. That set up Phillips' 29-yard field goal for a 27-14 lead.Cal finally scored again on a 1-yard run by Vereen with 39 seconds left in the third quarter to pull the Golden Bears to 27-21 before Phillips kicked a 25-yard field goal. Riley was 20 of 36 for 214 yards and one touchdown. Cal had only six first downs in the first half.
What a night it was for Simi Valley's Jackson twins
December 24, 2009
Now we know the best reason to have twins -- so you can get your revenge.
The Jackson twins from Simi Valley, Langston and Lorne, had a memorable Wednesday night playing against Utah.
First, Langston's California team lost to Utah in football, 37-27. Langston is a reserve running back. But Lorne's Pepperdine basketball team then beat Utah, 76-64, with Lorne scoring a career-high 18 points.
One twin avenges another. What a night.
-- Eric Sondheimer
Photo: Pepperdine's Lorne Jackson tries to get past BYU's Noah Hartsock, left, and Lee Cummard during a game on Nov. 18, 2008. Credit: Jeff Lewis / Associated Press
latimes.com/sports/la-sp-poinsettia-bowl24-2009dec24,0,6596246.story
latimes.com
POINSETTIA BOWL
Utah storms back to beat California, 37-27
Golden Bears watch a 14-0 lead evaporate as the Mountain West hands the Pac-10 another bowl loss.
By Ben Bolch
December 24, 2009
Reporting from San Diego
Robert Johnson might have provided his team with the perfect recruiting slogan."You come to Utah," the senior free safety from Los Angeles said, "you win bowl rings."Johnson collected his third piece of postseason jewelry Wednesday evening at Qualcomm Stadium after Utah scored 27 unanswered points to rally from an early two-touchdown deficit and overwhelm California, 37-27, in the Poinsettia Bowl. Freshman quarterback Jordan Wynn completed 26 of 36 passes for a career-high 338 yards and three touchdowns for the Utes (10-3), who stretched the nation's longest bowl winning streak to nine games. Utah tied USC for the second-longest bowl winning streak in NCAA history, behind only the 11 consecutive postseason victories recorded by Florida State in 1985-96. "I believe our guys outwork the opponents in the bowl situation," said Utah Coach Kyle Whittingham, who improved to 5-0 in postseason games. "They understand that a bowl game is a chance to win another ballgame, and our guys have done that for a lot of years now.
"It was the third bowl victory by a Mountain West Conference team this season and the second over a counterpart from the Pacific 10 Conference in two days after Brigham Young upended Oregon State on Tuesday in the Las Vegas Bowl. Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said his team did not underestimate the Utes."That team right there had seven starters back on a defense that beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, " Tedford said. "That's a good football team. "Making his fourth consecutive start in place of injured tailback Jahvid Best for the Golden Bears (8-5), Shane Vereen had 122 yards rushing and two touchdowns, with 77 of the yards coming in the first quarter as the Bears built a 14-0 lead. The former Valencia High standout ran one way and then cut back for a 36-yard touchdown to give Cal an early 7-0 lead. 
When Cal linebacker Eddie Young intercepted Wynn's next pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown, the Bears held a 14-0 advantage and appeared to be on the way to helping Tedford improve his 5-1 bowl record.Then their offense went into hibernation mode. Here's how the rest of Cal's first-half drives ended: punt, punt, punt and halftime, with the Bears gaining three first downs along the way. "They kind of took us out of our game," said quarterback Kevin Riley, who completed 20 of 36 passes for 214 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. "We didn't really get anything going. "Utah held Cal to 11 yards rushing over the last three quarters. Meanwhile, Wynn, a true freshman from nearby Oceanside High, continually gained confidence, completing all three of his touchdown passes in the first half as the Utes took a 24-14 lead."I just kind of relaxed and didn't force it in there," Wynn said. Wynn's favorite targets included receiver David Reed, who caught six passes for 103 yards to set a school record with 81 catches and 1,188 yards in a season. Johnson intercepted a pass and broke up several others with bone-jarring hits. The former Fremont High and Los Angeles Southwest College product added a second Poinsettia Bowl ring -- the Utes also beat Navy here in 2007 -- to go with the one from the Sugar Bowl victory over Alabama last year." Me getting recruited here, I was feeling like I could probably win some rings," Johnson said. "I've been here three years and won three rings."ben.bolch@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Pepperdine 76, Utah 64
Game Leaders
UTAH
PEPPERDINE
Points
C. Brown 21
M. Thompson 25
Rebounds
J. Washburn 6
C. Moore 13
Assists
L. Drca 8
L. Jackson 4
Steals
C. Brown 3
K. Bell 3
Blocks
S. Glover 2
C. Moore 1
·Team Stats: Utah Pepperdine
Recap Box Score
Complete Schedule: Utah Pepperdine
Associated Press
MALIBU, Calif. -- Mychel Thompson scored a career-best 25 points, Lorne Jackson added 18 and Pepperdine snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 76-64 victory over inconsistent Utah on Wednesday night.
Keion Bell had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Waves (4-10), who hadn't won since beating Monmouth 3 1/2 weeks ago. Pepperdine never trailed against the Utes (5-7), taking a 17-point lead in the first half and never letting the margin drop below five in the final minutes.
Carlon Brown scored 21 points and Marshall Henderson added 20, but their Utah teammates uniformly struggled in their third straight defeat. Utah hadn't lost to Pepperdine since the 1979 NCAA tournament.
Recap Box Score
Complete Schedule: Utah Pepperdine
Associated Press
MALIBU, Calif. -- Mychel Thompson scored a career-best 25 points, Lorne Jackson added 18 and Pepperdine snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 76-64 victory over inconsistent Utah on Wednesday night.
Keion Bell had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Waves (4-10), who hadn't won since beating Monmouth 3 1/2 weeks ago. Pepperdine never trailed against the Utes (5-7), taking a 17-point lead in the first half and never letting the margin drop below five in the final minutes.Carlon Brown scored 21 points and Marshall Henderson added 20, but their Utah teammates uniformly struggled in their third straight defeat. Utah hadn't lost to Pepperdine since the 1979 NCAA tournament.
Bowl Preview Capsule
By The Associated Press – Tue Dec 22, 7:46 pm ET
Line: California by 3.
Series record: California leads 4-2.
Last meeting: Sept. 11, 2003, Utah 31-24.
What's at Stake
Utah has won eight straight bowl games, best current streak in the country. The Poinsettia is a big step down for the Utes, who are coming off their second BCS appearance, a 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Utah played in the Poinsettia Bowl two years ago, beating Navy 35-32. Cal is in a bowl for a school-record seventh straight season. The Golden Bears are making their third appearance in a San Diego bowl in six years, having played in the Holiday Bowl in 2004 and '06.
Key Matchup
Cal offense vs. Utah defense. Sounds simple, but if Cal scores a lot of points, it should win. The Golden Bears have averaged 40.1 points in their eight wins, while averaging only 7.5 points in their four losses. Cal has had more than 400 yards of offense seven times and been over 500 three times. Cal had blowout losses to Oregon (42-3), USC (30-3), Oregon State (31-14) and Washington (42-10).
Players to Watch
Utah: QB Jordan Wynn. The true freshman is from nearby Oceanside, Calif., and has played high school championship games at Qualcomm Stadium. He graduated from high school last December and enrolled right away at Utah, allowing him to go through spring ball. He is 2-2 as the Utes' starter.
California: QB Kevin Riley. Cal's fortunes ride with Riley. In the team's eight wins, Riley has completed 129 of 20 passes (61.7 percent) for 1,899 yards and 15 TDs, with four INTs. In the four losses, Riley is 60 of 137 (43.8 percent) for 737 yards and two TDs, with two INTs.
Facts & Figures: The teams haven't played each other since Utah won 31-24 at Salt Lake City on Sept. 11, 2003. ... Cal has won five of its last seven games. ... Utah is 11-3 in bowl games.
Mens basketball: Utes drop game to woeful Pepperdine
Injured Utes play out-of-synch and get beat on the boards.
By Rhiannon Potkey
Special to the TribuneSalt Lake Tribune
Malibu, Calif. » There won't be quite as much cheer around the Boylen household this holiday season.
Playing its final game before the Christmas break, the Utah men's basketball team suffered a regrettable 76-64 non-conference loss to Pepperdine on Wednesday night in front of 612 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse. The loss was the third straight for Utah (5-7) while Pepperdine (4-10) snapped its seven-game losing streak.
"I have two little girls at home, so I am going to try and clear my head and make it the best Christmas as we can make it," Utah coach Jim Boylen said. "But we came here to win, not lose games." To truly understand the magnitude of the loss it's best to point out that Pepperdine entered with an RPI of 340 out of 347 teams and was beaten at home by an NAIA school (Cal Baptist) earlier this season.
Utah was playing without starting sophomore center David Foster (ankle) and junior forward Jay Watkins (abdominal strain). The inside tandem combines to average 15.9 points and 10.5 rebounds, and their absence was obvious. The Utes were outrebounded 45-27, including 18 offensive rebounds that Pepperdine converted into 18 second-chance points. Utah's offense was out of synch early, and Pepperdine launched an 11-0 run to take a 16-5 lead with 13:21 remaining in the first half.
The Waves, who never trailed, expanded their lead to as much as 17 points before a late scoring spree by freshman Marshall Henderson narrowed Utah's deficit to 34-25 by halftime.
Utah pulled to within five points with 6:06 remaining in the game when Henderson hit a 3-pointer, but Pepperdine scored the next seven points to reestablish control.
"It was definitely frustrating. We would make a run and they would get a foul, or we would miss a shot and they would hit a three," said Henderson, who finished with 20 points. "It was always something that prevented us from getting any closer."
Coming off the bench for the second straight game, junior guard Carlon Brown finished with a team-high 21 points for Utah. But it was not the happy homecoming the Riverside, Calif., native was anticipating. "It sucks," Brown said. "Forget about it being a home game (for me), it was a must-win for us. To be two games below .500 is unacceptable and it's a position I have never been in before and never expected to be in, so it really hurts."
Freshman Jason Washburn made his first start in place of Foster, and finished with eight points and six rebounds in 31 minutes. One game after tying his career high, Luka Drca scored only seven points on two of nine shooting and committed five turnovers.
"I thought it was a similar pattern to our earlier games. We got stops and couldn't get the ball. We made them miss and couldn't get the ball," Boylen said. "We gave up too many offensive rebounds. If you have 17 turnovers and get beat on the boards, it's hard to win a road game."
The trip did enable Utah to reunite with Pepperdine associate head coach Marty Wilson, who spent four seasons at Utah before returning to his alma mater last season.
The Utes return from their short holiday break for practice Saturday night, and will attempt to snap their three-game skid when they host Texas-San Antonio on Tuesday night.
"I am definitely going to be thinking about this loss for sure," Henderson said. "I will try to take my mind off it for a little bit, but at the same time I can't take my mind off of it. I have to keep that edge."
Storylines
In short » In its final game before the Christmas break, the Utah men's basketball team suffers its third straight loss in falling to Pepperdine 76-64 on Wednesday night in Malibu, Calif.
Key moment » Pepperdine embarks on an 11-0 run early in the first half and Utah can never fully recover.
Key stat » Pepperdine holds a 45-27 rebounding advantage over Utah.
News and notes: Pepperdine sophomore guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley) scored 18 points to help the Waves snap a seven-game losing streak with a 76-64 victory over Utah. Jackson scored 13 of his points in the first half, and gave the fans a big reason to cheer in the final seconds of the game. Jackson’s free throw put Pepperdine at the 75-point mark, which meant all 612 fans received a certificate for a free piece of grilled chicken from the Kentucky Fried Chicken in Malibu. ... By Rhiannon Potkey Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
December 24, 2009 3:26 pm
Cub Scouts Hits the College Road
But, to Malibu?
by Cub Buenning
When a late-December game takes place on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, you know you are in the heart of college basketball. Right?
Christmas came a couple days early for us at Cub Scouts as we took a break from a Southern Californian family holiday to take in an intra-conference match-up between the home Pepperdine Waves and the visiting Runnin’ Utes of Utah. The game pitted two teams with early season struggles looking for one last chance to “get right” before the grind of their respective conference schedules.
The 2008-2009 Mountain West Conference regular season champs, and an NCAA-tournament team, the Utes are far different from last year’s installment. Gone are several key components of that squad including guard Tyler Kepkay and the Aussie mountain in the middle, Luke Nevill. Still around for Jim Boylen’s team are the talented backcourt of 6-5 Serbian senior point Luca Drca and the rugged, but effectively smooth play of junior Carlon Brown.
On the other hand, the Waves of the West Coast Conference (annually dominated by Gonzaga) are led by sophomore scoring sensation, Keion Bell, who made major notoriety this fall with the YouTube release of him dunking over 5 of his buddies. (For real, check this out, if you haven’t yet been versed.) Bell is partnered by junior swingman Mychel Thompson, the son of the former Laker and older brother of Klay, who is lighting it up for Washinton State. Another ex-NBAer’s progeny, Dane Suttle Jr. (whose dad of the same name is Pepperdine’s all-time leading scorer) has emerged as a third threat.
(In a crowd of just under a thousand, it was a current NBAer that got the attention of several in attendance, as Clipper center, Chris Kaman decided to venture through Topanga Canyon to take in a college game on an off-day. The 7th-year player couldn’t have been more gracious and took a few minutes to talk about the game and the holidays. (Seems Utah’s assistant Jeff Smith was one of Kaman’s at Central Michigan and had invited him to the game just minutes from the Staples Center.)
While the home team never seemed able to salt away a game they led throughout, the Waves were able to finally put away the Utes, winning 76-64.
The home team was the aggressor from the opening tip, making one successful foray to the hoop after another. Without the services of the departed Neville and an injury to current 7-3 monster, David Foster, the middle of the paint was wide open, much to the delight of the driving Waves players. Buoyed by the early interior advantage, Pepperdine sped off to an early 30-13 advantage.
The key players for both teams showed up on this night, as well as a young baby-faced guard for Utah by the name of Marshall Henderson. The 6-2 freshman from Texas (seemed to be a surprising number of Texans on the Utah roster) was a threat to score from everywhere on the court and his play early in the second half was instrumental in the Utes staying within range.
But whenever the visitors from the SLC pulled to within a couple baskets it was the LA-kid Bell that proved the difference, as he turned his first-half passivity into second-half fury. The 6-3 guard drove the ball with fervor and ease, netting 13 of his 17 points in the game’s second 20 minutes, predominately from drives to the hole and the slew of subsequent free throws (where he hit 9-10.) Bell was also omnipresent on the stat sheet as the high-flyer not only grabbed an impressive 9 boards, but also snagged 3 key thefts on the defensive end. The Waves were led by Thompson’s 25 and got some gutsy contributions by point-guard Lorne Jackson (18 points) and big man Corbin Moore (9 pts and 13 rebounds).
The Utes were paced by Brown’s 21 and Henderson’s 20, but were unable to establish consistent scoring down low and were hampered by shooting just 32 percent from behind the arc.
