Waves Surprise Gonzaga With Last-Second Basket

SPOKANE, Wash. — Reserve forward Marc McDowell scored on a layup with two seconds to play Thursday night to give Pepperdine a 65-64 victory over first-place Gonzaga in a West Coast Conference game at the Martin Centre.

The Waves finished the game with only six players after starters Gerald Brown and Kelvin Gibbs fouled out. McDowell, a 6-foot-7 junior, replaced Gibbs with 20 seconds to play after Gibbs picked up his fifth foul.

Bakari Hendrix made two free throws to give Gonzaga a 64-63 lead, its first advantage since the opening minutes.

Pepperdine called a timeout before McDowell scored his game-winning basket on a pass from Bryan Hill. Matt Santangelo missed a desperation shot at the buzzer for the Bulldogs.

Hill led the Waves with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jelani Gardner had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Tommie Prince scored 12.

In handing Gonzaga its first home loss of the season after 10 victories, Pepperdine prevented the Bulldogs from clinching the WCC championship while keeping alive its slim title hopes.

The third-place Waves (16-9, 8-5 in the WCC) trail Gonzaga by one game and Santa Clara by half a game. Pepperdine completes the regular season Saturday night at Portland.

Gonzaga (20-8, 9-4) hosts last-place Loyola Marymount on Saturday, and Santa Clara has games against San Diego and St. Mary’s remaining.

Pepperdine is now 3-0 since center omm’A Givens was suspended for the season, leaving the Waves with eight players, seven on scholarship.

It was Pepperdine’s first victory at Gonzaga since 1992, ending a five-game losing streak in Spokane.

After taking a 26-15 lead late in the first half, the Waves maintained an advantage until the final minute.

Hendrix, who had game-high totals of 29 points and 14 rebounds, made a three-point basket to pull Gonzaga to within 63-60 with two minutes to play. Santangelo’s driving layup got the Bulldogs to within 63-62 with 1:16 left.

Pepperdine held Gonzaga to 38.6% shooting (22 of 57) in beating the Bulldogs for only the second time in the last 12 meetings.

Brown, the Waves’ leading scorer, fouled out with 3:02 to play and was replaced by walk-on guard Al Minahan. Brown finished with nine points.