SOUTHLAND
No. 7 Auburn 87, Pepperdine 76--The Waves trailed only 43-40 at halftime, but the Tigers took control in the second half of the championship game of the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico, when Chris Porter scored 17 of his 19 points.
Mamadou N’Diaye had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Auburn (10-1) and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. N’Diaye averaged 14 points and 7.6 rebounds in Auburn’s three tournament games.
“I don’t think we are a top 25 team yet,” Pepperdine Coach Jan van Breda Kolff said. “We are preparing for UCLA next and then we’ll see what happens.
“Nevertheless, I think we played very well down here in this tournament and we improved as a team.”
Kelvin Gibbs led Pepperdine (8-3) with 17 points, Tezale Archie had 15, and Nick Sheppard 11.
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