The Pepperdine Waves survived and advanced in the first round of the 2011 WCC Tournament on Friday, sneaking by the San Diego Toreros, 84-81. After Pepperdine jumped out to a double-digit lead in the second half, San Diego came storming back, closing the deficit to just two with under 10 seconds left. After a free throw gave the Waves a three-point lead, Jordan Mackie's heave at the buzzer just missed, giving Pepperdine the win and a quarterfinal berth.
Dealing with foul trouble, and three starters that fouled out, San Diego was forced to use all of its bench, with 12 players seeing game-time for the Toreros. In total, 53 fouls were called, with San Diego accumulating 31. Combined, the teams 71 free throws were shot, with Pepperdine hitting 36-44 and San Diego connecting on 17-27.
Mychel Thompson, brother of Washington State's Klay Thompson, had an impressive night for the Waves, scoring a game-high 26 points and grabbing six rebounds. Lorne Jackson added 23 points and Corbin Moore finished with 11. Dan Suttle Jr. added nine points off the bench in the win. Moore also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and Jackson led the way with eight assists.
San Diego used a balanced attack to claw back into the game as four players were in double-figures. Chris Gabriel led the way with 18 points, with Darian Norris and Devin Ginty each adding 14. Chris Manresa had 12 points, as well. Gabriel finished with a team-high six rebounds and Matt Dorr dished-out five assists, though he only scored four points.
The Waves move on to face San Francisco on Saturday at 8:30 in the WCC quarterfinals. For more on the tournament, check out the rest of our WCC Tournament StoryStream. For a local look at the Waves, check out SB Nation Bay Area's StoryStream.