Feb. 5, 2005
Box Score
(SAN DIEGO, CA) - The USD Toreros won an old fashioned shootout against the Pepperdine Waves on Saturday by the score of 92-88 in front of 1,832 fans as the JCP. San Diego matched their school record of 14 made three-pointers and their starting frontline of Nick Lewis (28 points), Brandon Gay (24 points) and Brice Vounang (18 points) combined for 70 of the team's 92 points. The Toreros overcame a 9-point deficit with 10:48 left and Brandon Gay's three-pointer with :25 seconds left broke an 88-88 tie. USD improves to 12-10 overall and 4-5 in the WCC; the visiting Waves fall to 13-11/3-6.
"We gutted this game out tonight," said an elated Brad Holland. "We played tough defense at the right time and that was at the end of the game. This was a shootout with our guys burying 14 three-pointers and Pepperdine nailing 12. There was so much fire power from the outside, and that is where we won it at the end with some key threes from Corey (Belser) and B.G. (Brandon Gay)."
Junior forward Nick Lewis paced the Toreros in the first half as he netted 22 points by intermission. His previous career high as a Torero was 20 points. He made his first four three-pointers before finally missing in the last few seconds of the half. USD's biggest lead in the first half was 6 points, while the Waves fought back for a 5-point lead (36-31) at the 4:10 mark. Alex Acker led Pepperdine with 17 points in the 1st half.
In the 2nd half, after USD took a temporary 52-51 lead at the 17:50 mark, Pepperdine would move back ahead and stay in the lead the majority of the time with their 9-point advantage (79-70)the biggest margin with 10:48 to go. A Brandon Gay trey with 2:35 to go knotted the score at 84-all and then Corey Belser answered with his on three-pointer at the 1:45 mark for an 87-84 lead.
A Glen McGowan dunk pulled the Waves to within one at 87-86, but Brice Vounang cashed one of two free throws for a two-point advantage with :54 left. Alex Acker canned a jumper to knot the game at 88-88, then Gay iced the game with his game-winning three-pointer and 1-of-2 free throws. Pepperdine's Acker finished with a game-high 31 points, while Kingsley Costain (18 points) and McGowan (16 points) also reached double figures.
Both teams finished the game shooting 50% from the field. San Diego bombed in 14-of-27 three-pointers while the Waves buried 12-of-26. USD won the battle on the boards, 36-32. Point guard Ross DeRogatis played the entire 40 minutes as USD's floor general and finished with 8 points and 8 assists. USD will look for its third straight win on Wednesday (Feb. 9th) when they host the USF Dons at 7:30 pm.
