Gonzaga survives Pepperdine for win in WCC opener: 3 takeaways

Khalif Battle's 21 points leads the Bulldogs past the Waves

Gonzaga Bulldogs senior guard Khalif Battle. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga Bulldogs hung on for an 89-82 victory over the Pepperdine Waves in their West Coast Conference opener from Firestone Fieldhouse Monday night.

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

WHEN THEY’RE HOT, THEY’RE HOT

San Francisco transfer Stefan Todorovic has been a one-man show on offense for the Waves this season, though the 6-foot-8 senior received quite the helping hand from two of his teammates in their attempt to upset the Zags.

Jaxon Olvera got going early on, particularly in the midrange area, to lead Pepperdine with 16 points in the first half. The 6-foot-5 freshman came up big again down the stretch with a jump shot over Khalif Battle, followed by a score in transition late in the second half.

The Waves nearly overcame a 20-point deficit after halftime in large part because of Moe Odum’s brilliance on offense coming out of the break. The 6-foot-1 guard scored 10 of his team’s first 12 points in the second half to make it 54-44 with 16:25 left in regulation.

Olvera followed suit with a 3-pointer, then Todorovic converted a 3-point play the old-fashioned way on the ensuing Waves possession to make it 64-60. That was the closest Pepperdine would get before Graham Ike helped extend Gonzaga’s advantage with three straight scores in the post. 

Together, Pepperdine’s big three of Olvera, Todorovic and Odum scored 46 of the team’s 50 points in the second half. Olvera led with a career-high 27 points, Odum had 24 and Todorovic added 19.

TURNOVERS IN WAVES

The Zags had trouble establishing a rhythm on offense against the Waves due to an abnormal amount of turnovers. Part of that could’ve been due to Pepperdine’s shape-shifting defense, but there was also a fair share of self-inflicted mistakes.

Ryan Nembhard looked out of sorts while committing a season-high six turnovers, in addition to going 4-for-15 from the field. Michael Ajayi didn’t have quite the homecoming he probably hoped for, finishing with just two points and four turnovers in 11 minutes of playing time. Graham Ike also had three turnovers in the second half during the Waves’ rally.

Gonzaga committed 13 turnovers that led to 16 points the other way for Pepperdine.

UP NEXT: PORTLAND

Back in the win column again, the Bulldogs look to build momentum out of the gate in WCC play as they return home for a game against Portland at the Spokane Arena on Thursday.

The Pilots (5-10, 0-2 WCC) face quite the gantlet to start the new calendar year — after dropping their first two league games to Washington State and Oregon State, they’ll take on the Zags in Spokane, then Saint Mary’s back in Portland before heading down to San Francisco to play the Dons on Jan. 9. 

Portland fell to the Cougars, 89-73, in their respective WCC opener from Pullman, Washington, on Saturday. Max Mackinnon led the way in scoring with 22 points on 9-for-15 from the field, while 6-foot-10 freshman Austin Rapp dropped 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 34 minutes. WSU went 14-for-25 from 3-point range.

On Monday, the Pilots came up short to the Beavers, 89-79, in Corvallis, Oregon. Rapp paced with 22 points and six rebounds. 

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