Waves Turn This Rivalry Into a Rout

It wasn’t long ago that Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount was the rivalry in the West Coast Conference.

As far as the Waves go, there is no such rivalry. These days, Pepperdine is battling Gonzaga for conference titles and NCAA tournament berths. . Despite a sloppy second half, the Waves dismantled the Lions, 84-59, before 2,007 Wednesday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Pepperdine (14-6, 7-0) got another balanced effort, winning its ninth game in a row and its seventh consecutive in the series with Loyola Marymount.

Glen McGowan had 17 points, Jimmy Miggins had 15 and Boomer Brazzle added 13. The first-place Waves got points from all but one player and remained a game ahead of Gonzaga. “Even though they weren’t turning the ball over a lot, I thought we did get the game to our tempo,” Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal said. “When they missed some of their early shots, it allowed us to run. It was the difference.”

Cedric Suitt, who tied a WCC record with 10 blocks in the Waves’ double-overtime victory at San Diego, had three blocks in the first nine minutes and finished with five.

In the first half, Craig Lewis and McGowan came off the bench to spark a 17-8 run that pushed the Waves’ lead to 31-18.

“That was the best half we’ve had in a while,” Miggins said.

Loyola (9-12, 2-5) lost its fourth in a row and remained in sixth place. Greg Lakey was one bright spot for the Lions, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds.

“Transition defense beat us in the first half,” Lion Coach Steve Aggers said. “We didn’t get back defensively like we should have. And we just continue to shoot poorly.”