The game started off rough and uneven, as the teams battled to a 26-26 tie with 5:23 remaining in the half.
Suddenly, the Waves kicked it up a notch. Fueled by the energy of McGowan, Alex Acker, Robert Turner, and freshmen Kingsley Costain and Russell Hicks, Pepperdine finished the half with a 48-31 lead. They finished off an impressive 29-5 run by scoring the first seven points of the second half.
Continuing a trend that has defined the young season, the Waves allowed their adversary back in the game in the second half. UNLV responded with a 19-5 run of their own to get within 60-50 with 12:00 to play.
The margin hovered around that ten-point barrier for the rest of the half, but the Rebels could not string together another significant run.
McGowan finished with 27 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds. The effort follows his season-high 29-point outing against Azusa Pacific on Saturday. He becomes the fourth Wave to register a double-double this year, joining Alex Acker, Yakhouba Diawara, and Marvin Lea.
Acker did what he always does -- filled up the stat sheet without drawing attention to himself. He scored 16 points to go with his eight points and six assists, playing the full 40 minute game. It's almost as if the coaches don't bother to rest him because he dominates games without expending any effort.
With Diawara and Jesse Pinegar in constant foul trouble, the Waves needed a third scorer to emerge from their deep bench. It turned out to be Costain, who scored a career-high 19 points, including three three-pointers during the decisive late first half run.
Kruger, the former Atlanta Hawks coach, who also has considerable collegiate success at Florida and Illinois on his resume, has a nice team and is looking forward to a nice season as well. UNLV's version of the "Killer B's" dominated the stat sheet for the Rebels. Odartey Blankson was outstanding with 22 points and ten rebounds. Romel Beck led the second-half comeback and finished with 18 points, while Jerel Blassingame chipped in 17 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
The second-half battle between 5'9 Blassingame and 5'7 Costain was entertaining and hard-fought.
Pepperdine won despite the Rebels shooting 30 free throws to their 16 -- and of their 16 attempts, half came in the final two minutes of the game as the Rebels were trying to stop the clock.
The Waves are 7-1 for the first time since 1985-86, when Jim Harrick's team finished 25-5, the best record in school history.
The win over UNLV also marks their seventh straight overall, their longest winning streak since a 13-game run in 2001-02, Westphal's first season.