MAKING WAVES; PEPPERDINE DEFENSE SPOILS HARRICK'S HOMECOMING : PEPPERDINE 61, RHODE ISLAND 57.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Jim Harrick pulled Rhode Island out of the Sun Bowl Tournament and dragged the Rams cross-country to face a school where he's considered an icon.

And the Rams responded with a miserable offensive performance paralleled by an inspired defensive effort from Pepperdine.

It led to a road-weary Rhode Island shooting only 35 percent from the field as Pepperdine held on for a 61-57 win Tuesday at Firestone Fieldhouse in the first round of the inaugural Sparkletts Invitational.

``It's hard to beat Coach Harrick,'' said Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar, an assistant under Harrick at UCLA. ``You love him, that's your mentor.''

The Waves (8-5) face Siena (8-1) in today's title game. Rhode Island, which lost at Cleveland State on Sunday, meets winless Eastern Michigan in the consolation game.

``I hope all the attention that was given to me didn't detract from my team because we certainly got off to a horrible, horrible start,'' Harrick said. ``We could never climb out of that hole. We played fairly (well) in the second half and we couldn't generate anything.''

Maybe because Rhode Island didn't commit enough fouls, without question the bane of the Waves' season.

Pepperdine led 38-23 early in the second half and withstood a late Rhode Island flurry despite some of the worst foul shooting known to mankind.

The Waves made 14 of 30 free-throw attempts and were a horrible 4 for 16 from the line in the final 2:04. It helped the Rams cut a 10-point deficit to 60-57 with 23.5 seconds left before Jelani Gardner made a free throw to seal it.

Pepperdine was led in scoring by Marc McDowell and Kelvin Gibbs, who scored 13 points apiece. Gardner added 12 and David Lalazarian had 10.

``We need to come early to shoot some free throws, but it does feel good,'' said a smiling McDowell in regards to ruining Harrick's homecoming. ``I've known him for a couple of years and I've had a lot of respect for him ever since his days at UCLA, so it kind of makes you feel good to beat a team that is so well coached.''

While Rhode Island (6-6) is expected to rebound and contend for the Atlantic 10 title, the win holds a more drastic significance for Pepperdine.

It's the Waves' first win against a Division I team since they defeated Wichita State on Nov. 24. ``To be honest, this means we've broken our losing streak for December, we're able to play in the championship of our tournament,'' Romar said. ``And it also means we beat a good basketball team and that we made progress.'' Though it was important to Pepperdine's mental state heading into the West Coast Conference season in nine days, this tournament has more to do with Harrick's return to his roots.

He spent nine seasons at Pepperdine, won 167 games and took the Waves to the NCAA Tournament four times. It was his springboard to the UCLA job.

And many members of the 1983 Pepperdine team, which lost to eventual NCAA champion North Carolina State in double overtime of the first round, were in attendance. Such a large contingent was present that Harrick spent nearly 45 minutes signing autographs, shaking hands and posing for pictures afterward.

``I wish we would've played better,'' Harrick said. ``We knew travel was going to be tough, but adversity breeds character.''

But Harrick wasn't the only attraction for Rhode Island. Representatives from seven NBA teams, including coach Del Harris of the Lakers, were courtside to see Rhode Island sophomore Lamar Odom be harassed, mostly by Tommie Prince, into a 5-for-15 shooting performance.

Odom fouled out in the final minute and finished with a quiet 19 points and eight rebounds.

``A lot of my friends, and other people, we're like, `Who's going to stick Odom? Who's going to stick Odom?' '' Prince said. ``I didn't say anything. I just said come to the game. They were like, `Who's going to stick? You don't have anyone to stick him.' They must not have seen Pepperdine play before.''

SPARKLETTS INVITATIONAL

EASTERN MICHIGAN VS. RHODE ISLAND

Third-place game

Time: 2:30 p.m., Firestone Fieldhouse

Radio: none

Eastern Michigan (0-9) update: The Eagles are off to their worst start since they began the 1957-58 season with 15 straight losses and finished the season 1-20. EMU does have an intriguing figure in 6-foot-4 walk-on Ben Romano. The sophomore played for Angola in the 1996 Olympics and scored six points in the loss to the U.S. Dream Team, when NBA players actually played games.

Rhode Island (6-6) update: It's been a long couple of days for URI, and especially coach Jim Harrick. The former Pepperdine and UCLA coach flew to Los Angeles on Christmas Day and then went to Cleveland State for a Sunday game. He arrived in L.A. on Monday morning at 2 a.m. and had a tournament dinner at night, followed by a gathering of former players.

SIENA VS. PEPPERDINE

Championship game

Time: 5 p.m., Firestone Fieldhouse

Radio: broadcast can be heard at broadcast.com

Pepperdine (8-5) update: Going from an emotional game against Rhode Island to a possible letdown against Siena is something coach Lorenzo Romar is concerned about. However, the motivating factor is the tournament. The Waves didn't want to play the consolation game in their own tournament, nor do they want the first edition of this tournament to be a loss. The Waves are 6-0 at home.

Siena (8-1) update: This is the Saints chance for respectability. Even though they're 8-1, their most notable win was a seven-point decision against George Washington. Second-year coach Paul Hewitt has turned the program around, going 25-13 during his tenure after the the Saints posted 22 wins in the previous three years. Hewitt, a former Villanova assistant, recruited NBAers Tim Thomas and Kerry Kittles to Philadelphia before leaving for upstate New York.

- Brian Dohn

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (Color) Rhode Island coach Jim Harrick protests a call during Pepperdine's 61-57 victory in the Sparkletts Invitational.

John McCoy/Daily News

BOX: SPARKLETTS INVITATIONAL (see text)