MALIBU, Calif. – Pulling within three points four times in the second half, Santa Clara couldn't get closer in Malibu and lost 64-55 to Pepperdine on Thursday night in Firestone Fieldhouse. The team's split the season series with SCU winning 60-57 in Santa Clara on Jan. 24.
Santa Clara falls to 11-16 overall, 5-10 in the WCC while Pepperdine is 16-11 and 9-7.
Santa Clara shot 36.8 percent from the field (21 of 57), including 11.1 percent from beyond the arc (2 of 18). The Broncos added 84.6 percent from the foul line (11 of 13). They collected 26 rebounds, eight assists, nine steals, four blocks and had 10 turnovers.
Jared Brownridge led SCU with 18, hitting 8 of 9 from the free throw line, but he was also 0-8 beyond the arc. It was just the fifth time in 60 career games he didn't hit a three. Denzel Johnson had 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field. Emmanuel Ndumanya grabbed five rebounds and Brandon Clark added three assists with six points.
Jett Raines scored 19 points with nine boards. Shawn Olden collected 16 off the bench. Lamont Murray, Jr., also off the bench, scored 13 and Stacy Davis added eight with eight rebounds.
Pepperdine led 28-24 at the half. Clark converted a steal into a Jarvis Pugh basket to open the second half and the Broncos trailed by three, 29-26. But a three by Raines 30 seconds later put the Waves up by six.
A smart move to the basket by Johnson made the Pep lead just four, but again Pepperdine responded with a three, making it 37-30 at 15:44.
A pair of free throws by Matt Hubbard and a basket off the glass by Johnson made it a three-point Pepperdine lead, 37-34, at 14:37. The Waves answered with a 5-1 run. Brownridge's third pair of free throws and an inside bucket by Nate Kratch cut it to three again, 42-39, at 11:23.
After Pep scored, Johnson answered at 8:32, cutting it to three for the fourth time in the second half, 44-41 Pep. Olden crushed a three at 7:04 and SCU never got closer.
Johnson scored his 13th point on a lay-up at 6:55. Pep went up by 11 at 3:05 after a three by Olden and a basket inside by Murray, Jr.
Pepperdine finished the game with free throws, winning 64-55.
Johnson's three from the elbow, Clark's lay-in and a pair of free throws by Brownridge cut the Waves 4-0 opening spurt short and SCU led 7-4 at 17:45. Pugh blocked Pep's attempt and took it all the way down the court for a one-handed dunk.
After Kratch scored inside at 16:26, Pepperdine's 8-0 run over the next 1:50 put the Waves ahead by four, 15-11, at 14:18.
Kratch dunked it for the Broncos' first basket in more than five minutes at 7:52. With Pep scoring a couple more buckets inside, Brownridge a couple of his own to cut the Pep lead to five, 26-21, at 2:39. Hubbard crushed a three will less than two seconds on the clock to send the teams to the lockerroom with a four-point Pepperdine lead, 28-24.
NOTES: Starters for the Broncos (career starts): Brandon Clark (64), Nate Kratch (20), Denzel Johnson (38), Jared Brownridge (60) and Jarvis Pugh (11). After starting the same line-up for 14 straight games, this was the first time Santa Clara used this line-up this season (Pugh starting in place of Matt Hubbard).
