Lopez’s 27 Lead Waves to No. 2 Spot

Damin Lopez made six-of-six three-pointers in the first half Friday night and led all scorers with 27 points to pace Pepperdine to an 88-65 victory over St. Mary’s in Moraga, Calif.

Pepperdine improved to 15-10 overall and 7-6 in the West Coast Conference, moving into a second-place tie with San Francisco. St. Mary’s fell to 12-13, 4-9.

“I am pleased with our defensive intensity and the team is really sharing the ball,” Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury said. “And that opens up the offense.”

The Waves started the game with a 20-9 run over the first 8:30, including four of Lopez’s three-pointers. Accurate shooting and forward Dana Jones’ 10 first-half rebounds helped expand the Wave lead to 46-26 by the half.

Although the Gaels were only outscored 42-39 in the second half, they could get no closer than a 15-point deficit the rest of the way.

St. Mary’s was outshot 59% to 32% from the floor.

Jones finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds.