Pepperdine Will Try to Duplicate Wednesday’s Victory Over Loyola

Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine will play the second half of their home-and-home series at 5 p.m. today at Loyola’s Gersten Pavilion, with Loyola facing something of a must-win situation only a third of the way into conference play.

Pepperdine’s 104-79 victory Wednesday night in Malibu dropped the Lions, 10-7 overall, to 4-1 in the West Coast Athletic Conference. The Waves took sole possession of first place at 5-0 when USF defeated St. Mary’s Friday night.

Pepperdine (13-7) dominated nearly every facet of play Wednesday night, controlling the boards and the pace so that Loyola was never able to get its running game in gear and was held to a season-low total. The Lions are averaging 111.8 points at home, where they are 5-2. In WCAC games their average dips to 98.4.

Pepperdine, with a 6-2 road record, is holding opponents to 42% shooting.