Pepperdine Ends WCAC Season on the Road

Pepperdine’s basketball team, tied for second place with Santa Clara and St. Mary’s in the West Coast Athletic Conference, will end its conference schedule on the road this week. The Waves (16-9 overall and 8-4 in conference play) will play the University of San Diego (10-15, 2-10) at 7:30 tonight (2-25) and meet St. Mary’s (17-7, 8-4) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (2-27).

Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said that the Waves, Santa Clara and St. Mary’s are aiming for the second seed in the conference tournament, behind regular-season champion and top-seeded Loyola Marymount (22-3, 12-0). The tournament will be held March 5-7 at Santa Clara’s Toso Pavilion.

Harrick said that his team, the Broncos and the Gaels “want to avoid playing Loyola in the semifinal round of the tournament. Loyola is awfully good--the best team I’ve coached against in the WCAC.”

Last week the Lions defeated the Waves twice, winning first at Malibu, 107-95, and then at home, 142-127. Pepperdine’s Levy Middlebrooks had a career-high 40 points and 25 rebounds in the loss at Loyola.