Bitter Loss for Waves

When the whistles ceased and the insults faded Tuesday night, Pepperdine’s 14-game home winning streak had disappeared with a humbling 69-56 loss to Utah at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves (6-4) were outplayed throughout. Their pressure defense was muted by a string of quick whistles. Their offense--besides Brandon Armstrong’s 24 points--was nearly nonexistent. And administering the beating was a struggling Utah team that recently lost to Utah State and Weber State.

“When you play a top-20 caliber team, which Utah normally is, you have to play hard and well,” Pepperdine Coach Jan van Breda Kolff said. “We did neither.”

More was lost than a game. Players lost their cool. So did coaches.

Dick Hunsaker stormed the court screaming and pointing at the Wave bench when Utah’s Kevin Bradley was called for traveling after tangling with Armstrong in the key with 3:08 left in the first half. Who is Dick Hunsaker? He is Utah’s acting coach until Rick Majerus returns from rehabilitating his knee, and he had a similar outburst Dec. 6 at Utah State.

Van Breda Kolff responded by taking several steps toward Hunsaker.

The officials, of course, had the last word, calling a double technical foul.

Tempers cooled only for a moment. In the final seconds of the half, David Lalazarian of Pepperdine was assessed a technical foul for pushing Britton Johnson. Bradley made both free throws for a 41-33 lead.

Between shots Bradley turned and made an in-your-face expression to the Pepperdine bench, infuriating the Waves. Van Breda Kolff trailed the officials into the locker room, forcefully making his case.

Despite the histrionics, Pepperdine went meekly in the second half, trailing by as many as 16 points.

Armstrong, who made seven of 11 shots in the first half, missed six of seven thereafter and no other Wave scored in double figures. Pepperdine shot 33.9%.

“We have guys with the ability to score, but they haven’t done it on a consistent basis,” Van Breda Kolff said.

Neither team shot particularly well. The Utes (6-4) made only four of 20 three-point shots and leading scorer Phil Cullen was one of 12 from the field.

Bradley, a junior guard from Crenshaw High, scored 16 points and Chris Burgess, a transfer from Duke who attended Woodbridge High, had 11 for Utah.

Despite the frigid shooting, there was enough heat for one last outburst. Pepperdine’s Elan Buller and Johnson were charged with a double technical foul with 15.7 seconds to play.

Van Breda Kolff shook Hunsaker’s hand after the game, but when he began to speak, Hunsaker brushed him off. The Pepperdine coach would not comment on what was said between the coaches and had little to say about the officiating.

“The game is called the way the game is called,” he said. “Fouls are being called on the ball that do not disrupt play. We just have to adjust. We have to improve.”