LATE PEPPERDINE SURGE DROPS SAN DIEGO PEPPERDINE 83, SAN DIEGO 73.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

MALIBU - The knockout came suddenly. It always does when a couple of brawlers stand toe-to-toe the entire night, trading uppercuts and body blows.

Sooner or later one gets tired, the other senses exhaustion then rears back and lets fly with everything he's got.

For the Pepperdine men's basketball team, it was a lightning-quick, three-punch combination that sent San Diego sprawling on Saturday, paving the way for a critical 83-73 West Coast Conference victory in front of 2,433 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

First, David Lalazarian sank a deep 3-pointer, then Brandon Armstrong broke loose on a breakaway layup followed by two free throws from Kelvin Gibbs. By the time San Diego came to, Pepperdine had busted open a close game and finally taken control.

The win gives the Waves (10-5, 2-0) a two-game conference lead over the Toreros (8-7, 0-2), a team many predicted would challenge Pepperdine for the WCC championship.

That might still happen, but after getting a huge assist from Loyola Marymount two nights ago - the Lions shocked San Diego 61-58 - Pepperdine now has a clear advantage over San Diego.

The key was the Waves' six-point run late in the second half. With the game tied 71-71, Lalazarian hit a 3-pointer, then Armstrong and Gibbs followed with a layup and two free throws, respectively. Just like that, the Waves had a 78-71 lead with a minute to play.

``We knew we had to get it done right then,'' said Pepperdine guard Craig Lewis, who finished with 12 points. ``When we were sitting on the bench during the time out, we kept saying it's time to take control, we have to do it right now, and that's what we did.''

Brandon Armstrong, fighting foul trouble, had 22 points to lead Pepperdine, and Gibbs and Lalazarian added 16 and 14 points, respectively.

San Diego, which has lost six of seven games and four in a row after starting the year 7-1, got 24 points from Sam Adamo and 18 from Andre Laws.

``I thought we played a little better at the end than they did and that enabled us to win,'' Pepperdine coach Jan van Breda Kolff said. ``That was the difference in the game.''

The teams traded control of the game throughout, starting with the Waves' 10-0 run to open the first half. But five consecutive Pepperdine misses cracked the door back open for San Diego, which responded with an 11-2 run to pull to within one.

``We got lackadaisical and let them back in,'' Lewis said. ``All of a sudden we were in a ballgame.''

The missed shots were hurtful in two ways: The Waves couldn't build on the lead and they weren't able to blanket San Diego with fullcourt pressure, a key to getting their transition game flowing.

``You can't press on missed shots,'' van Breda Kolff said.

It was one of two major momentum switches for San Diego. The other was late in the first half with the Waves in control at 31-23 after a Lalazarian 3-pointer.

San Diego followed with consecutive 3-pointers from Dana White, Laws and Adamo, and suddenly the Toreros were ahead 32-31 and the Waves were scrambling.

San Diego finished the half with another push, outscoring Pepperdine 9-5 over the final four minutes to take a 41-36 lead at intermission.

``Adamo put on a shooting show,'' van Breda Kolff said.

It was more of the same in the second half, until Pepperdine unleashed the final, game-deciding surge.

``It was up and down the whole game,'' Lewis said. ``And when we got to that timeout (with the game tied), we decided to get the job done, and fortunately we were able to do that.''