Christie Leads Weary Waves Past San Francisco, 68-62

SAN FRANCISCO — Doug Christie scored eight of his 20 points in the last 5 1/2 minutes and Pepperdine struggled past University of San Francisco, 68-62, Saturday night for its 23rd consecutive West Coast Conference victory.

The Waves (14-6 overall, 7-0 in the WCC) fell behind, 19-6, with 11:30 left in the half, but rallied for a 30-27 halftime lead and never fell behind in the second half.

“I think our guys thought it was an 8 p.m. tip (the game started at 7:30), because we got off to a terrible start,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said.

“We are a tired team, having played five games in nine days, but I am happy to have won two more road games (after beating St. Mary’s Friday night).”

The Dons (9-11, 1-6) came back to tie the score, 48-48, on a basket by Orlando Smart with 5:43 left. Christie scored to give the lead back to Pepperdine, but USF got even again, 50-50, on a score by Alvin Brown.

But Christie had a three-point basket and a three-point play as the Waves regained command with an 8-1 surge to make it 58-51 with 1:58 left. Pepperdine, which made 24 of 29 free throws including its last 17 without a miss, sank eight in the final minute.