They won the game.

Led by Terrance Johnson's 18 points on 6-8 shooting, the Waves made up a 14-point first-half deficit to tie it just before the half, and made up a seven-point deficit in the final four minutes to preserve a narrow win.

Tony Darden's career night saw him shoot 8-11 beyond the three-point arc, tying a CSULB record. Unfortunately, no other 49er managed double figures and the team was unable to cope with Pepperdine's full-court pressure, committing 23 turnovers.

The first 90 seconds of the game were quite promising for the Waves, as they forced consecutive turnovers and took the ball aggressively to the basket, resulting in free throw opportunities. But they made just one of their first seven free throw attempts, and the 49ers gained confidence as Darden began his onslaught and Vance Lawhorn spun through the lane for two acrobatic dunks. Suddenly, the Waves trailed, 21-7.

The Waves treaded water for a while and trailed 29-16 when Coach Paul Westphal decided he had seen enough. He inserted seldom-used walkon Senior Dustin Johnson for lackadaisical Boomer Brazzle.

The message was received by Brazzle and his teammates. Dustin played just two minutes, but drew a charge and collected a steal as he made the most of his time. The team seemed to feed off this new energy and began a charge. The Waves made it all the way to a 33-33 tie just before the half, though Darden appropriately punctuated the half with a three-pointer that gave the 49ers an intermission edge.

The Waves rattled off ten straight points to open the second, completing what was a 27-7 run and seemingly taking control of the game. But the 49ers battled back to tie the game at 48. Again, the Waves turned to unlikely sources, using jumpers by Mike Westphal and Derrick Grubb to go back up by six points.

Darden made quick work of that deficit with two more three-pointers in about 30 seconds, which sparked a 13-0 surge that put Long Beach State back up 61-54 with four minutes to play.

But the Waves' early-game woes finally evaporated down the stretch, as Devin Montgomery, Terrance Johnson, and Boomer Brazzle led one final comeback. The game was seemingly in hand when Montgomery stepped to the line with a 65-63 lead and eight seconds to play. He missed the front end of the one-and-one, but the 49ers were unable to convert a last-second tying jumper.

Darden is to be commended for a tremendous performance, but Waves fans cannot be happy with their team's inability to close out on open perimeter shooters. Several times, Darden received a pass at the three-point line in transition, and Waves defenders would back off rather than challenge his shot. The Waves' zone defensive schemes can be stifling, but they demand quick reactions to outlet passes, and on this night, the team was unequal to the task.

Brazzle finished with 13 points; Jimmy Miggins had 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Montgomery continued his early-season funk with just seven points on 2-6 shooting. Grubb played his best minutes of the season with four points and five rebounds, though he was called for fouls just about every time he was near a play.

Pressure defense turned the tide of the game. Statistics on such things are not kept, but it appeared that the Waves outscored the 49ers by about 20 points while the press was on, and were outscored by nearly as much when they weren't pressing. In the absence of Glen McGowan, Will Kimble, and Dani Hazut for various reasons, the Waves do not have the depth they had anticipated, making a full-time press unlikely.

The Big West swing continues Wednesday at Cal State Fullerton. Now that the first win is under their belt, hopefully the Waves can capitalize and start a winning streak.