Pepperdine Still Perfect in WCC, 77-65

Hot-shooting Brandon Armstrong scored 33 points to lead Pepperdine to a 77-65 West Coast Conference victory over St. Mary’s on Saturday at Moraga, Calif.

It was the ninth time in 10 games Armstrong has led his team in scoring as the Waves, 14-5 overall and 6-0 in conference, won their eighth consecutive game. They’ve scored at least 75 points in every game during the streak.

The 6-foot-4 junior guard made 10 of 16 shots, including all five of his three-point attempts en route to game-high honors. Armstrong, from nearby Vallejo, came in as the WCC’s second-leading scorer at 20.9 points a game.

Armstrong was backed by David Lalazarian and Kelvin Gibbs, who scored 14 and 11 points, respectively.

St. Mary’s (2-17, 0-6) lost its 10th in a row despite 21 points from Jovan Harris.

Pepperdine outscored the Gaels, 20-2, at the free-throw line. St. Mary’s had only four attempts to 27 for the Waves.

--Associated Press

UC Irvine 75, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 63--The Anteaters set the stage for a Big West Conference showdown against Utah State with a victory before 2,517 at San Luis Obispo.

Irvine’s victory, coupled with Utah State’s 71-57 win against visiting Idaho, means that the winner of Wednesday’s game at the Bren Center will be in sole possession of first place in the conference. The Aggies are 18-2 and 7-0, the Anteaters 15-2 and 7-0.

Irvine tied a school record with its 11th consecutive victory. Although out-rebounded, 41-36, the Anteaters jumped to an early lead, then held off the Mustangs (6-11, 0-6), who are off to their worst start since joining the conference in the 1996-97 season.

Irvine guard Jerry Green led all scorers with 22 points and forward Ben Jones had 19.

Three players scored 10 points each for San Luis Obispo, including the Big West’s leading scorer, Chris Bjorklund, who was slowed by a deep thigh bruise. Bjorklund averages 19.8 points.