GAME NOTES: The Pepperdine Waves will square off against the Washington State Cougars in Seattle tonight, as part of the Cougar Hardwood Classic.
The Waves are coming off an outing in which they clamped down on visiting Montana State to claim a 59-36 victory against a Bobcat team that came into the affair averaging 80.3 points per game. The win pushed Pepperdine to 6-4 overall, and was the club's second win of its last three contests.
As for the Cougars, they enter tonight's affair as the winners of five straight, rebounding from three consecutive losses at the 76 Classic in Anaheim back in late November. Washington State most recently earned a 66-42 victory over Western Oregon to improve to 7-4 on the year.
The series between these two programs is deadlocked at 2-2. The last time Pepperdine and Washington State met on the hardwood was back on December 13, 1986, a contest in which WSU came away with an 82-77 win.
The Waves put forth their best defensive effort in nearly 60 years on Sunday against Montana State, as the club hadn't given up fewer points in a game since a 70-35 verdict over UC Santa Barbara back on February 23, 1952. At the other end of the court, the Waves were paced by Taylor Darby, who finished with a double-double consisting of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Corbin Moore also achieved double figures in the win, tallying 13 points to go with six boards and three blocks. The Waves shot a respectable 44.7 percent from the floor, while holding the Bobcats to 28.3 percent, and they won the battle on the boards by a 40-31 margin. Pepperdine averages just 61.2 points per game this season, but the Waves have held their opponents to 59.8 ppg on a lackluster 40 percent shooting. Darby leads the squad with 12.0 ppg to go with 6.7 rpg, and he is joined in double figures by Moore and his 10.2 ppg. Moore also leads the Waves on the glass with 8.3 rpg, while Joshua Lowery is also worthy of mention with a solid 9.1 ppg contribution to go with 34 assists.
The Cougars are averaging a healthy 72.4 ppg, and they are currently shooting an impressive 49.1 percent from the field. Washington State has not slouched at the other end of the court, limiting opponents to 38.5 percent shooting from the field, and only 62.5 ppg. Faisal Aden, who missed three games due to injury before returning to score seven points in the win over Western Oregon on Sunday, owns a team-leading 15.1 ppg scoring average. He is joined in double figures by Brock Motum (14.5 ppg), while Reggie Moore sits on the cusp of a double-digit tally with 9.4 points ppg to go with his club-leading 60 assists. WSU used a 20-5 second half run to break open a game in which the club owned a slight 28-25 halftime lead against Western Oregon, shooting at 56.5 percent clip over the final 20 minutes, which included a 5-of-11 effort from beyond the arc. The Cougars outrebounded the Wolves by a 36-28 margin, and forced 18 turnovers. Marcus Capers score nine points and grabbed five boards to lead the way for Washington State, while Charlie Enquist and DaVonte Lacy chipped in eight points apiece.
All signs point to a Washington State win in this one, despite the fact that the Waves proved in their last outing that they can dial up the defense. Pepperdine, however, should struggle to keep up offensively with the Cougars, who play with plenty of vigor at the defensive end themselves. Give the nod to WSU here, but expect the Waves to be within reach for the majority of the contest.
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