Waves Foiled Again at Thunderdome, 65-62

Casey Cook’s three-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining lifted UC Santa Barbara to a victory over Pepperdine Wednesday night. The loss dropped the Waves to 1-4, including two straight losses to Big West schools this week.

The Waves seemed to have taken control late, building a 62-58 lead on two outstanding plays from freshman point guard Shaun Davis, a stop-and-pop three-pointer followed by a terrific drive-and-dish assist to Terrance Johnson for another three with just under two minutes to play.

But the Waves were stifled the rest of the evening. The Gauchos calmly tied the score with two jumpers sandwiched around a Waves turnover. A miss by Johnson set the stage for Cook’s heroics.

In the first half, the Gauchos (2-2) blitzed the Waves with seven three-pointers in 16 attempts, while the visitors shot just 33%. Pepperdine played with much more defensive intensity, but may have overdone their pursuit of the ball, leaving shooters open too often.

Keith Jarbo and Derick Grubb entered the game two minutes into the second half and provided a much-needed lift in both energy and production. In ten highly active minutes, Jarbo forced two jump balls, took a charge, corralled three rebounds and converted a fast-break layup and ensuing free throw that finally caught the Gauchos at 39 at the 15:00 mark.

The game see-sawed back and forth the rest of the evening, with neither team leading by more than four.

Cook’s game-winner was his first three-pointer of the season, but the Gauchos drained eleven of them on the evening. Cecil Brown paced his team with 16 points, and Joe See was deadly from the outside with 13 points off the bench.

Glen McGowan led the Waves with 14 points and seven rebounds. Davis had 10 points and six assists, while Alex Acker scored 12 and Johnson 11. Derick Grubb played his best game of the season with six points and five rebounds. He and Jarbo helped the Waves with their interior defense and rebounding, although the Gauchos still won the battle of the boards, 40-32.

The Waves have been outrebounded by an average of eight per game. They can only hope the arrival of Yakhouba Diawara is close at hand.