Pepperdine’s 85-67 Victory Not Good Enough, Coach Says

Pepperdine had just improved to 5-1 with a victory over Cal State San Bernardino, but Coach Tom Asbury wasn’t smiling.

Asbury was hoping for more than he saw from the Waves in their 85-67 decision over an NCAA Division II opponent Tuesday night at Pepperdine.

“We’re three points away from being undefeated,” Asbury said, whose team’s only loss was to Weber State, 66-63. “Why don’t I feel good?”

San Bernardino (4-4) didn’t play like a Division II team for the most part. The Coyotes led for much of the first half and were ahead by three points with 3:20 to play in the period.

The Waves finally went ahead to stay, 34-33, on a steal and layup by guard Damin Lopez with 2:34 left in the half and increased their lead to 41-35 by halftime.

But Pepperdine couldn’t shake the Coyotes until late in the game, when it increased its margin to 24 points.

“Part of the problem is at this time of year, you don’t get any sustained practice time,” Asbury said. “We’re also still searching for that player or players to be our fifth starter.”

Pepperdine had four players score in double figures, led by senior forward Dana Jones with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Derek Noether added 18 points and seven rebounds.