MBK | Pepperdine Hands Gaels First Home Loss
2/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. —Saint Mary's had four different players log double digit points and won the rebounding battle, but struggles from deep and from the free throw line allowed Pepperdine to escape McKeon Pavilion Thursday with a 69-63 West Coast Conference victory.
The Gaels (19-4, 10-3 WCC) trailed by only two points at 65-63 with 27.7 seconds left after a Jock Landale tip-in. Pepperdine (15-10, 8-6 WCC) made all four of its free throws in the final 25 seconds to hold off Saint Mary's and hand it its first home loss of the season (15-1). Meanwhile, the Gaels missed their final four shots in the last 15 seconds of the game and went 2 for 12 over the final 5 minutes, 47 seconds, of the game.
Evan Fitzner powered the Gaels for most of the second half, scoring 13 of his team-high 15 points after halftime. He scored eight points during a 17-8 early run that gave SMC a 47-40 lead and later hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 57 with 7 1/2 minutes to go. Joe Rahon had 11 points while Calvin Hermanson and Dane Pineau each had 10. Pineau also had 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season and third in his last five games.
We didn't come ready to play today," said Pineau. "We didn't play like we usually do. We just gotta compete better than that. It just didn't reflect how we've been playing all season."
Saint Mary's closes its current home stand at 8 p.m. Saturday versus Loyola Marymount. Single game, group and specially-priced team ticket packages are available via SMCGaels.com or by calling the SMC Athletic Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx (4689). The game will also be broadcast live on Comcast Sports Net Bay Area.
Pepperdine also had four double-digit scorers, led by Lamond Murray Jr.'s game-high 16 points. Amadi Udenyi scored 14 – all in the second half, Stacy Davis had 13 and Jett Raines tallied 12. The Waves outshot Saint Mary's 57.7 percent to 38.2 percent in the second half alone and 48.1 percent to 43.5 percent in the game.
We didn't guard well in the second half at all. We gave up 57 percent in the second half. You do that, combined with shooting 5 of 14 from the line, you're not going to win against a pretty good team."
The Gaels were just 4 for 19 from beyond the 3-point arc and went 5 for 14 from the free-throw line in the game. They outrebounded the Waves 39-31, including 14-7 on the offensive end. But Saint Mary's had just 11 second-chance points for its 14 offensive rebounds.
Our shot selection hasn't been as good lately. We've got some things we've got to straighten out," said Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett. "Our defense hasn't been as good, our shot selection hasn't been as good, so we need to get better. We did not play well enough to win. Period."
A slow start to the matchup would later turn into both teams taking turns going hot and cold in the first half. A total of 11 fouls were called in the game's first seven minutes, with the teams going a combined 3 for 10 from the free-throw line. Saint Mary's put an end to that with four consecutive baskets and a 10-2 run to go up 18-9. The Waves went 0 for 4 from the floor with two turnovers during that stretch.
But after starting the game shooting 2 for 13, Pepperdine took its turn getting hot, going 6 for 7 during a 13-2 run to take a 22-20 lead with under six minutes to go before the break. The Gaels went 1 for 5 with three turnovers during the Waves' burst.
After the back and forth in the middle of the first stanza, the two teams settled for playing even. Saint Mary's outscored Pepperdine 10-8 over the final 5:25 while shooting 5 for 9. Pepperdine was 3 for 7 with two free throws as the score sat tied at 30-30 heading to the locker rooms.
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