PEPPERDINE 69, ST. MARY’S 63 Gaels’ loss to Waves is costly
St. Mary’s first home loss of the season certainly damaged its hopes of winning theWCC regular- season title and also hurt the Gaels’ chances for an at- large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
St. Mary’s fell to 15- 1 at McKeon Pavilion as Pepperdine pulled out a 69- 63 decision Thursday night.
Dane Pineau had a double- double ( 10 points, 12 rebounds) for the Gaels, but went 2- for- 8 at the foul line.
The junior forward said he and his teammates didn’t bring the right mindset into the game.
“We didn’t come ready to play today,” Pineau said. “We didn’t play like we usually do. We’ve just got to compete better than that. It just didn’t reflect how we’ve been playing all season.”
The thought of his players not being mentally prepared to compete didn’t sit well with head coach Randy Bennett.
“Shame on them. If you’re ever not ready for a game, shame on you,” Bennett said. “… I don’t think it’s that simple at all. We got outplayed. We didn’t guard in the second half.”
TheWaves shot 57.7 percent ( 15- for- 26) from the floor in the second half.
With 5: 12 left, Pineau hit both ends of a 1- and- 1 to tie the game 59- 59.
Soon thereafter, Kameron Edwards’ follow shot put theWaves up for good
They were on top 63- 61 with less than two minutes left. The Gaels had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Calvin Hermanson’s contested three- point try just before the shot- clock buzzer was off the mark.
Lamond Murray Jr. drained a jumper on the ensuing possession, putting the Waves in the driver’s seat.
Murray Jr. had a game- high 16 points. TheWaves also got 14 — all in the second half — from De La Salle alum Amadi Udenyi.
TheWaves ( 15- 10, 8- 6WCC) entered Thursday with an RPI of 129, but they’ve swept the season series against St. Mary’s ( 19- 4, 10- 3).
In fact, theWaves have beaten St. Mary’s three consecutive times after the Gaels had won the previous 17 meetings.
And with Gonzaga routing Portland, the Gaels fell 1 ½ games behind the firstplace Zags in the conference standings.
St. Mary’s came into Thursday second in the nation in three- point field- goal percentage ( 42.4). The Gaels proceeded to go 4- for- 19 from beyond the arc.
Even more surprising: They went 5- for- 14 at the line.
“Our shot selection hasn’t been as good lately,” Bennett said. “We’ve got some things we’ve got to straighten out.”
The Gaels’ loss ended an amazing East Bay streak. TheWarriors ( 24- 0) and Cal ( 15- 0) haven’t lost at home this season. So, the East Bay home streak is over at 54.