MBK | Gaels Drop Close One To Pepperdine
1/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. – A bruised and battered Saint Mary's men's basketball team took Saturday's game against Pepperdine to the wire but couldn't get the stops it needed down the stretch, falling 67-62 to the Waves at McKeon Pavilion.
Brad Waldow led Saint Mary's (17-5, 9-2 West Coast Conference) with 25 points. Emmett Naar added 14 for the Gaels. Amadi Udenyi, Jett Raines and Lamond Murray, Jr. each had 11 points to lead Pepperdine (14-8, 7-4).
Down three with the ball and one minute to play, Naar earned a trip to the line thanks to a foul on the perimeter. He made one of two, leaving Saint Mary's down 64-62 with 48 seconds left. The Gaels needed a stop, but Jeremy Major got the the bucket and converted, putting Pepperdine ahead 66-62 with 18 seconds to play. Saint Mary's couldn't get a clean shot at the other end and the Waves closed it out from the line.
"Because we were so bad defensively, it became a close game and then three straight possessions down the stretch, we didn't get block outs," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "Defense and rebounding, it usually comes down to that. We played well enough offensively to win."
Trailing by two with 3:20 to go, Waldow put the Gaels back in front. After eluding a double-team, he spun into the lane and converted the baby hook, earning the and-one. He made the free throw, leaving Saint Mary's up 59-58. Pepperdine countered on the other end with Stacy Davis earning the and-one, and his free throw made it 61-59 Waves with SMC forward Desmond Simmons fouling out on the play.
After a defensive stop by Pepperdine, Murray added to the lead when he collected an air ball and put it back to give the Waves a 63-59 advantage. With the shot clock winding down, Dane Pineau brought the Gaels some hope, scoring inside to make it 63-61 Pepperdine with 1:27 left. Raines earned a trip to the line, but made just one of two as Pepperdine led by three with one minute left.
After closing the first half on a run, Pepperdine scored the first five points of the second half to tie the score at 33. Neither team set the world on fire though, as the two combined to go 3 for their first 14 from the floor out of intermission.
By the 10-minute mark, that tight margin remained with Saint Mary's leading 46-43. The slim lead came largely from Waldow, who scored six of the Gaels' first nine in the half. That was also about the time that Pepperdine forged ahead for the second time, taking a 47-46 lead on a layup by Udenyi with 9:39 left.
That's when Saint Mary's came back to life. A desperation jumper by Calvin Hermanson fell, then a defensive stop allowed Kerry Carter to get out on the break and drive for a heavily-contested layup. Two free throws by Naar pushed the lead to five and gave SMC the 52-47 lead with 7:51 left.
Pepperdine jumped back into the lead with 5:29 left. A bucket by Davis, followed by a steal, hoop and trip to the line by Murray gave the Waves a 56-53 lead and capped a 7-0 run. Two free throws by Waldow stopped the run and put SMC within one, making it 56-55 with 4:14 to play. The Gaels' big man sank one more free throw with 3:47 left, tying the score and setting the stage for a tense final few minutes.
A great Saturday afternoon crowd got treated to some early fireworks, and a 9-0 run late in the first half gave Saint Mary's the momentum to carry a 33-28 lead into the locker room. Things really began to heat up with just under seven minutes to go when, with the Gaels on the fast-break, an Aaron Bright lob found Waldow mid-air for the alley-oop dunk. That put Saint Mary's up 23-17 and got the crowd involved in earnest for the first time.
That roar became a recurring phenomenon a few seconds later when Naar cut through the lane, absorbed the contact and converted the layup. After a time out, Desmond Simmons capped the run with a 3-pointer from straight on, and Saint Mary's led 28-17 with time in the half dwindling.
Despite an injury to Bright late in the half that sent him to the locker room and kept him out the rest of the game, the Gaels held on to the lead at the break, with Pepperdine scoring the final six points of the half capped by a layup by Jett Raines. The Gaels shot 48 percent in the half to Pepperdine's 44, but made six 3-pointers while the Waves made just one.
Saint Mary's won't have its usual Thursday game next week, instead using the time to prepare for Saturday's 7 p.m. date with Pacific. The contest marks the end of SMC's three-game homestand as the Gaels then head on the road for trips to BYU and San Diego.
The 2014-15 home schedule concludes Feb. 19 and 21 against Portland and Gonzaga. Tickets for all remaining home games can be purchased by clicking the Tickets link on SMCGaels.com or by calling the SMC Athletic Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx.
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