PEPPERDINE DOESN'T PEEK WITH GONZAGA IN MIND, WAVES ROUT RIVAL LMU PEPPERDINE 84, LMU 59.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

MALIBU - With Pepperdine and Gonzaga so tight in the West Coast Conference standings, any slip-up before the rematch with the Bulldogs on Feb. 16 in Spokane, Wash., all but eliminates most of the Waves' hopes of winning the WCC regular-season championship, seriously threatens hopes for a co-championship and makes winning the conference tournament almost mandatory to insure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

So, when looking at things in that perspective, how important was Wednesday's 84-59 victory over Loyola Marymount in front of 2,007 at Firestone Fieldhouse?

Very.

``We know Gonzaga is back there, we feel them breathing down our neck,'' Pepperdine coach Paul Westphal said. ``Every game we play is an NCAA Tournament game, as far as we're concerned.''

So while Gonzaga was keeping the heat on by beating Portland on Wednesday, the Waves were taking care of business against the L.A.-rival Lions, who came in on a three-game skid and had dropped of seven of their past 10.

Not that LMU's recent troubles were any concern to the Waves. As far as they could tell, the Lions (9-12, 2-5) were riding a 10-game winning streak and threatened to run away with the conference crown.

As a result, there wasn't even a hint of a letdown or looking ahead on Pepperdine's part. The Waves jumped on the Lions from the outset, scoring the first six points, taking a 24-14 lead after 12 minutes and rolling to a 36-20 lead on Jimmy Miggins' long 3-pointer with 3:54 left in the first half.

``We can't look at it as overlooking anyone or thinking ahead,'' Pepperdine guard Devin Montgomery said. ``Because as easily as we're winning games, if we don't come in focused, we can lose. That's the bottom line, and with the way things are, we can't afford to lose.''

Glen McGowan had 17 points to lead the Waves (14-6, 7-0) while Jimmy Miggins had 15 and Boomer Brazzle 13. In all, 12 players scored for the Waves.

Pepperdine (14-6, 7-0) now has won nine consecutive games, its last loss coming against Georgia on Dec. 17. In addition, the Waves extended their January winning streak to 28 games dating back to a loss to Gonzaga in 1999.

The nine victories in a row is the school's longest since a 12-game winning streak in 1991-92.

Greg Lakey had 16 points for the Lions and former Cleveland of Reseda standout Kent Dennis added 14.

The Waves weren't taking any chances, using a fierce full-court press to hamper the Lions all over the floor and the shot blocking of Cedric Suitt to force bad shots, alter others and simply swat away the rest.

Suitt, in keeping with his recent shot-blocking binge, had four more in the first half, helping the Waves limit the Lions to 32 percent field-goal shooting.

Suitt finished with five blocks, giving him 15 in the past two games. However, he injured his back midway through the second half and didn't return. Westphal said Suitt likely will sit out the next two practices, but he expects him to play Saturday at LMU.

After a slow shooting start, Pepperdine found its touch midway through the half, shooting 57 percent from the field on 19-of-33 shooting.

Pepperdine finished with a 57 percent field-goal shooting percentage.

It didn't hurt that a number of their shots came in transition on fast-break layups.

Miggins led the way with 11 points, Brazzle had eight and McGowan added six, including a pair of thunderous ally-oop dunks.

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Photo:

Pepperdine's Boomer Brazzle, right, drives to the hoop during the Waves' rout of LMU on Wednesday.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer