USF Breaks Waves at the Finish, 59-56

MALIBU — Fittingly, the game came down to a one-on-one showdown between the two best players on the court--centers Hakeem Ward of San Francisco and Bryan Hill of Pepperdine.

Ward’s defensive stop on a close-range shot by Hill in the closing seconds halted a furious comeback by Pepperdine and allowed the Dons to hold on for a 59-56 West Coast Conference victory Saturday night before 2,373 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Pepperdine (3-11, 1-1 in conference play), using a press to force a rash of San Francisco mistakes, rallied from an 11-point deficit in the last three minutes and pulled to within 58-56 on a layup by Tezale Archie with 21 seconds to play.

San Francisco’s Zerrick Campbell missed a one-and-one free throw and, after a Pepperdine timeout, Hill got the ball near the free-throw line and dribbled down low to the right of the basket. But as he turned to shoot, Hill stumbled and missed a short shot.

Damian Cantrell made one of two free throws with three seconds left for the Dons (7-7, 2-0), who watched Archie’s half-court shot at the buzzer bounce off the front of the rim.

Hill and Ward both said there was contact on the game’s pivotal play, but neither were convinced that a foul had occurred.

“Some people are going to say I was fouled and others are going to say I lost my footing,” said Hill, who scored 14 points. “The referee didn’t call it, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Ward, one of four transfers from Ventura College who scored for the Dons, had 16 points, 12 in the first half when San Francisco capitalized on Pepperdine’s 26% shooting (seven of 27) to take a 32-24 lead.

“We dug a hole for ourselves,” Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “In the second half we knocked down a few more shots (13 of 26) and defended a little bit better, which allowed us to get back into the game.”

But the Waves were woeful from three-point range, making only two of 18 shots.

The victory completed a weekend sweep for the Dons, who beat Loyola Marymount on Friday night, and sweetened the homecoming for Coach Phil Mathews, former Ventura College coach.

“A month ago, we would have lost this game,” Mathews said, after talking with a large contingent of Ventura fans who showed up to cheer the Dons. “But we kept our composure.”