Waves Roll With It, Get Win at Home

Bad news seems to follow Pepperdine wherever it goes these days. The good news is that it isn’t affecting the Waves’ record.

Two days after learning that point guard Devin Montgomery will be out four to six weeks with a fractured right thumb, Pepperdine banded together its injury-depleted lineup and defeated UC Santa Barbara, 72-68, Saturday night before 2,266 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves (3-2) won their third in a row despite the news of Montgomery’s injury following an X-ray on Thursday. He was hurt in Wednesday night’s victory over Cal State Fullerton.

Terrance Johnson had a game-high 21 points, Jimmy Miggins had 17 and Boomer Brazzle added 13.

“I’m starting to wonder if we’re [jinxed] too,” Miggins said. “Life goes on. We can’t stop.”

Montgomery’s injury adds to a list that includes forward Glen McGowan and center Will Kimble. McGowan is still recovering from off-season knee surgery and Kimble’s career is likely over because of a heart condition diagnosed last month.

With only seven scholarship players on the active roster, the Waves managed to slow a Santa Barbara squad coming off a big win Tuesday against USC. Pepperdine had a rebounding advantage for the first time this season and forced 23 turnovers.

Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal changed his lineup to improve its rebounding. Freshman 6-foot-8 forward David Patten, who was set to redshirt, earned a start in his first collegiate game and 6-10 center Derick Grubb and 6-7 forward Dustin Johnson also played significant minutes. All three helped the Waves gain a 39-33 advantage on the boards.

“We’ve had to change our style, plus deal with the emotional loss of Will,” Westphal said. “Getting three wins this week was real good.”

Mark Hull led Santa Barbara (3-3) with 18 points.

-- Eric Stephens

Loyola Marymount 75, Cal State Fullerton 68 -- Youthful Loyola Marymount showed composure when it counted and held on to win at Gersten Pavilion.

Four players scored in double figures for the Lions (4-3), who play four freshmen. Sophomore Andy Osborn led Loyola with 15 points, sophomore Charles Brown chipped in 12 and five assists, junior Jason Dickens scored 11 and junior Keith Kincade scored 10.

Center Pape Sow, in foul trouble much of the game, led Fullerton (1-4) with 19 points and 10 rebounds. His backup, Bron Groomes, scored 15.

With two minutes remaining, the Lions were clinging to a 67-65 lead, but four consecutive free throws by Brown gave Loyola Marymount some breathing room and Fullerton never got closer than five points after that.

-- Paul McLeod

Cal State Northridge 117, Bethany College 51 -- Northridge used a full-court press to help force 40 turnovers en route to the nonconference victory at Northridge.

Leading, 9-7, Northridge (4-2) scored 12 straight points and then 10 more after a basket by Bethany (3-5) to pull to a comfortable 31-9 lead with 6:40 to play in the first half.

The Matadors, who shot 50% from the field, were led by forward Chris Davis who scored 19 points.

-- Doug Ferber

UC Irvine 91, Pomona-Pitzer 23 -- Stanislav Zuzak scored a season-high 12 points to lead host Irvine (3-2), which scored the first 25 points and set school records for fewest points allowed and largest margin of victory. The Sagehens (1-4), a Division III team, missed their first 13 field-goal attempts and shot only 13% from the field.