Pepperdine v. UCSB

As the Santa Barbara News-Press put it, "UCSB finally remembered Saturday night that Raymond Tutt was the nation's fourth-leading scorer last year. Unfortunately, this flashback came with only 80 seconds left in its game against Pepperdine. "

Pepperdine beat UCSB, 69-66. And they did it largely because Tutt seemed to simply forget to shoot the ball. While Tutt hit a 3-pointer to get the Gauchos close with 1:20 remaining, the next time he tried it Pepperdine made sure he didn't get an open look, and Pepperdine hung on to win. Tutt's 3-pointer down the stretch was his first shot attempt of the second half and only his sixth of the game. Pepperdine can take comfort in knowing that they held UCSB's leading scorer under doupble digits for the first time in his career as a Gaucho, and Tutt had just nine points.

UCSB was up by 8 at the half, but Tutt only had five shots during the entire first half.

In the first half, the Gauchos shot a great 64 percent to Pepperdine's 44.8 while also outrebounding the Waves 17-7. But they cooled off after halftime, shooting just 39.1 percent in the second half. Pepperdine, meanwhile, needed just a little over three minutes to the halftime deficit. The Waves, who shot 65.2 percent in the second half, took advantage of four quick UCSB turnovers and pulled ahead 42-41 on a fast-break layup by Tayshaun's big brother Tommie Prince. Two more Gaucho miscues gave Pepperdine another opening, and they took it with consecutive 3-pointers by Brown, Marc McDowell and Jelani Gardner to take a 51-45 lead.

The Waves, gaining only their second true road victory of the year, are now 8-4. "We have to grow up on the road,'' said Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar. "Men win on the road, and our guys were men tonight. Our guys fought back in the second half." The Waves warmed up with a 7-footer by omm'A Givens, a fast-break layup by Gerald Brown and two Brown free throws, tying the game at 8-apiece. Brown led all scorers with 20 points.

Senior forward Dwayne Williams, who reclaimed his starting position after five straight games of coming off the bench, responded yesterday by scoring a UCSB team-high 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Junior forward Josh Merrill, who played for Pepperdine as a freshman before transferring to UCSB, also had a big first half with 10 points, finishing with 13, as did forward B.J. Bunton. Bunton and Williams both hit a pair of shots in the first four minutes to give UCSB an 8-2 lead. Pepperdine, meanwhile, missed seven of its first eight shots.

Gardner had 15 points, seven assists and no turnovers. The Waves led by as many as eight points, 55-47, before UCSB began to respond. Three mid-range jumpers by Williams fueled a 15-7 run by the Gauchos. Tutt motioned Matt Stock into the corner and then fed him for a 3-pointer. Williams then tied the game, 60-60, when Stock found him alone on the baseline with a half-court pass. But UCSB handicapped itself in the final four minutes by missing five of its last six free throws. Stock, meanwhile, missed consecutive 3-point attempts to tie the game, including one that was blocked, and Brown took advantage by scoring from close range to give Pepperdine a 68-63 lead with 2:01 to go. Tutt made his first shot attempt of the second half count by swishing a long 3-pointer, giving the Gauchos one last chance at 68-66 with 1:20 to go. UCSB's final four 3-pointers all missed, however.

Although Pimm called time out with 43.3 seconds to go, all the Gauchos got was another 3-point attempt by Stock which was blocked by Robert Fomby with 35 seconds remaining.

Gardner made 1-of-2 free shots with 21.8 seconds on the clock, giving the Gauchos a shot at sending the game into overtime. And after calling another timeout with 12.9 seconds left, Pimm decided to put things directly into Tutt's hands. "We wanted to get it to Tutt and let him try to create off the top, because we didn't have much time,'' he explained. "We ended up getting the shot, and getting another one, but they were too long - real long jumpers. Down three, you're really looking for a 3." Tutt's 23-footer glanced off the rim.

Bunton got the rebound for UCSB, his 11th rebound of the game, and a team high. He passed the ball back to Stock who took a three pointer, missing.

PEPPERDINE (69)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Prince          21   3-5   0-0   1-2  2  5    6
Hill            35   5-7   3-4   1-4  1  5   13
Givens          22   4-8   0-1   2-3  0  4    8
Gardner         37  5-10   3-4   0-3  7  1   15
Brown           37  8-17   2-3   0-2  5  1   20
Fomby           17   1-2   0-0   0-0  1  0    2
Gibbs           20   1-2   0-0   3-3  0  1    2
Mcdowell        11   1-1   0-0   0-1  0  1    3

_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 28-52  8-12  7-18 16 18   69
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.538, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
5-13, .385 (Prince 0-1, Givens 0-1, Gardner 2-3,
Brown 2-6, Fomby 0-1, Mcdowell 1-1). Team
rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 3 (Gibbs 2, Fomby).
Turnovers: 11 (Hill 3, Fomby 2, Gibbs 2, Prince
2, Givens, Mcdowell). Steals: 6 (Brown 2, Prince
2, Gardner, Hill).

SANTA BARBARA (66)
                      fg    ft    rb
               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tp
Wallace         24   2-3   3-6   2-5  2  2    7
Williams        34   7-8   0-0   3-4  1  2   15
Bunton          34   5-7   3-5  6-11  0  2   13
Tutt            38   3-7   2-4   2-6  3  0    9
Payton          16   1-5   0-0   0-1  3  2    2
Merrill         21  5-10   1-4   1-5  2  1   13
Bean            14   0-1   0-0   0-1  4  4    0
Stock           11   1-6   2-2   0-2  2  1    5
Woodward         8   1-1   0-0   0-0  1  0    2
_______________________________________________
TOTALS         200 25-48 11-21 14-35 18 14   66
_______________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.521, FT-.524. 3-Point Goals: 5-15, .333
(Wallace 0-1, Williams 1-1, Tutt 1-2, Payton 0-1, Merrill 2-4,
Stock 1-6). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 1 (Wallace).
Turnovers: 17 (Bean 4, Bunton 4, Williams 3, Tutt 2,
Woodward 2, Wallace). Steals: 3 (Merrill, Stock, Woodward).

Next up for Pepperdine is the WCC Conference opener against Portland on Friday, January 9, 1998 at Pepperdine at 7:00 pm. For UCSB Big West Conference play opens Thurday, January 8, 1998 at the University of Idaho at 6:05 pm PST.