PEPPERDINE FOILED BY TRICK SHOTS : LMU 64, PEP. 60.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer

It might not always look like it, but Loyola Marymount guard Jim Williamson swears he knows what he's doing every time he launches one of his awkward, off-balance layups in traffic, shots that begin somewhere below his knees yet always seem to find their way through the net.

The 5-foot-10 senior guard had that shot and plenty of others working Saturday in the Lions' 64-60 win over Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. Williamson was especially effective in the second half, scoring 15 of his game-high 22 points in leading Loyola Marymount (5-4, 2-2) to its first road win of the year.

In the process, the Lions pried loose Pepperdine's brief grip on a share of first place in the West Coast Conference. The Waves were bidding to win two straight for the first time this year and climb two games above .500 in conference play.

Pepperdine (4-12, 2-2) had beaten Loyola Marymount Wednesday night and was counting on a repeat in order to gain much-needed confidence entering this week's trip to Gonzaga and Portland.

``You're thinking way up here,'' Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar said, pointing to the sky. ``You're thinking about 3-1 in conference, first place, winning streaks. So, to lose a game like this really hurts.''

Williamson played a pivotal role. Although he's a terrific outside shooter, perhaps his best attribute is an uncanny ability to convert difficult shots. He continually burned Pepperdine with twisting layups on fast breaks in which he controlled the ball from one end of the court to the other. Even having one or two defenders draped on him didn't seem to disrupt Williamson's shooting.

``I definitely know what I'm doing when I take those shots,'' Williamson said. ``When you're my height, you have to find ways to score.''

Loyola Marymount coach John Olive has seen Williamson connect on those types of shots so many times over the last three years that he's no longer surprised when the ball goes in.

``I think he learned those shots when he was 5 years old,'' Olive said. ``He's made a lot of those over his career.''

Even Romar was impressed.

``He definitely got it going,'' Romar said. ``Especially in the second half. He hit some one-handed hook shots and runners. He had it all going.''

The Lions certainly needed every one of them. In a battle of spurts, they outscored the Waves 6-0 in a two-minute stretch of the second half to erase a 53-50 deficit and take a 56-53 lead. The closest Pepperdine got after that was 61-60 with 54 seconds left, but then Loyola's Tim Kennedy hit 3 of 4 free throws to finally put the game out of reach.

``It was a game of runs,'' Olive said. ``We'd go up by five or six points and then they'd catch up. Then we'd come back again. But we made the last run and the last few stops.''

Tezale Archie led Pepperdine with 15 points. Marc McDowell added 13 and Bryan Hill had 12 points and seven rebounds. Hill overcame a slow start - he was scoreless, with just one board, in the first half.

Kennedy had 16 points for the Lions; Kenny Hotopp added 12.

``We had a number of guys step up tonight and make big plays,'' Olive said. ``It wasn't just one guy.''

Romar feels his young team will rebound from the tough loss. ``We came into conference play with a 2-10 record and then we won two of three games,'' he said. ``I think these guys will be OK.''