Fresh Noether Lifts Pepperdine Over USF, 72-57

After Friday night’s double-overtime victory over St. Mary’s, Pepperdine was dragging a bit Saturday night.

But the Waves still had enough left for the University of San Francisco, rolling to a 72-57 victory before 3,329 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Pepperdine’s three top scorers--Doug Christie, Geoff Lear and Dana Jones--had each played 47 minutes Friday, and it showed in the first half.

In the first half, Lear scored seven points but made only one field goal, Christie scored six and Lear had three points.

But Derek Noether, Pepperdine’s redshirt freshman center, didn’t play as much Friday as his three teammates, and was full of energy.

Noether scored 11 of his 18 points in the first 8 1/2 minutes, spurring the Waves (13-8 overall and leading the West Coast Conference at 7-1) to a 34-19 lead at halftime.

The Dons (10-12, 3-6) may also have been tired from their Friday night game against Loyola Marymount. USF made only eight of 24 shots from the field (33%) in the first half and never recovered from its sluggish start.

Tim Owens, USF’s leading scorer, was averaging 21 points coming into the game. But he sat out most of the second half, made only four of 13 field goals and finished with eight points. Noether’s first-half performance seemed to give a boost to his teammates in the second half.

USF Coach Jim Brovelli said that he did not use Owens much in the second half because he shot only 30% in the first half. He said that he also wanted to keep Owens from injuring his bruised left foot any further.

Christie scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, and Pepperdine expanded its lead to 65-42. Lear finished with 13 points and Jones with 10. USF cut Pepperdine’s lead to 66-55, but the Dons could get no closer.