MIDWEST: PEPPERDINE LEFT IN WAKE SIMPLE AS THIS: WAVES MISS SHOTS, SO THEY ARE ELIMINATED WAKE FOREST 83, PEPPERDINE 74.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer SACRAMENTO - The dissection dissection /dis·sec·tion/ (di-sek´shun) 1. the act of dissecting. 2. a part or whole of an organism prepared by dissecting. of a basketball game can be long, tedious and ultimately fruitless fruit·less adj. 1. Producing no fruit. 2. Unproductive of success: a fruitless search. See Synonyms at futile. , even one in the first round of the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
In the case of Pepperdine's exceedingly frustrating frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: 83-74 loss to Wake Forest on Thursday in a Midwest Regional opener at Arco Arena Current arenas in the National Basketball Association Western Conference Eastern Conference , elementary interpretations are far more useful then elaborate ones. And no matter how deep anyone wanted to delve afterward, the Waves kept bringing everyone back to one fundamental point: Wake Forest (21-12) made the important shots when it mattered most and Pepperdine (22-9) didn't. ``It's not like we didn't have the open looks, and it wasn't like they were doing anything different defensively,'' Waves forward Jimmy Miggins said. ``We just didn't knock down our shots when it counted and they did.'' The when-it-counted period Miggins refers to was a disastrous stretch over the final minutes. The Waves, who trailed 74-72 with 2:48 remaining, misfired on three consecutive shots. In that same span, they gave up a 3-pointer to Broderick Hicks Hicks , Edward 1780-1849. American painter of primitive works, notably The Peaceable Kingdom, of which nearly 100 versions exist. , a turnaround jumper to Darius Songaila and two free throws to Taron Downey. ``It was pretty simple, really,'' Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal Not to be confused with Paul Westhead. Paul Westphal (born November 30 1950 in Torrance, California) is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA. A native of California, Westphal has had a storied career in the NBA, both as a player and as a head coach. said. ``That's basketball for you.'' And so ends year one under Westphal, the former NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= player and coach who returned home to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, this year to replace Jan van Breda Kolff For the Dutch footballer called Jan van Breda Kolff, see Jan van Breda Kolff (footballer) Jan Michael van Breda Kolff (born December 16, 1951) is an American former college and professional basketball player and college basketball head coach. when the latter left Malibu for St. Bonaventure. The Waves, picked by many to finish in the middle of the West Coast Conference pack, instead shared the regular-season title with Gonzaga and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. With four starters and three key reserves returning next year, Westphal hopes Pepperdine will return again soon. ``We're looking forward to getting back next year and hopefully sticking around a little longer.'' The Waves had chances to do just that against Wake Forest but fell apart offensively at the most inopportune in·op·por·tune adj. Inappropriate or ill-timed; not opportune. in·op  por·tune time.
``The game was there for us,'' point guard Devin Montgomery said. ``We just didn't get it done when we had to.'' The forgettable for·get·ta·ble adj. Fit or apt to be forgotten: a movie with very forgettable characters. Adj. 1. forgettable - easily forgotten unforgettable - impossible to forget finish followed an equally inefficient start, when Pepperdine, which seemed sluggish early on, missed seven consecutive shots and turned the ball over three times in falling behind 15-2. The Waves didn't score until Glen McGowan hit two free throws five minutes into the game. ``We were thinking too much and we weren't being aggressive,'' Westphal said. ``We didn't match their aggressiveness to start the game.'' Pepperdine eventually picked itself up behind a masterful performance by Montgomery (18 points) and steady Boomer Brazzle (15 points), rushing Wake Forest with an 18-11 run over the last seven minutes of the half to close to within 38-35. The Waves then outscored the Demon Deacons 8-2 to start the second half to take a 43-42 lead after Terrance Johnson's 3-pointer. ``We got ourselves back in the game,'' Montgomery said. ``And from that point on it was a ballgame.'' Wake Forest pushed ahead 66-58 on a three-point play by Jamaal Levey, but a 12-6 Waves run closed it to 72-70 with 3:25 left. ``We kept battling and battling like we have all year,'' Pepperdine center Cedric Suitt said. ``That's what made the last few minutes so frustrating for us. When we needed to have it, it wasn't there.'' Craig Dawson had 19 points, including five 3-pointers, for Wake Forest. Songaila, a 6-9 senior, had 18 points and Hicks added 15 points. The Demon Deacons shot 50.8 percent from the field (30-59) while the Waves shot 41.4 percent (29 of 70). Jimmy Miggins, Pepperdine's leading scorer at 15 points per game, was held to 11 points on 5 of 12 shooting because of foul trouble. Johnson, who averages 13 points, finished with three. ``(Wake Forest) made some big shots that they could just have easily missed and I thought they got to the line when they just have easily couldn't have and we missed some shots we could have made and didn't get to the line when we could have,'' Westphal said. ``When you have a close game, those things add up to one team winning and one team losing.'' Simple as that. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Dustin Johnson can't bear to watch as Pepperdine falls behind. Paul Sakuma/Associated Press (2) Devin Montgomery goes to the basket over Wake Forest's Taron Downey during Thursday's NCAA Tournament game. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press |
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