GAME NOTES: Newly named interim head coach Eric Bridgeland takes another shot at his first win with the Pepperdine Waves tonight as they visit the Santa Clara Broncos in a West Coast Conference clash at the Leavey Center. Following the abrupt resignation of Vance Walberg last week, Bridgeland stepped in to guide the Waves, his first effort resulting in a hard-luck loss to Saint Mary's on the road on Saturday night, 79-74. The setback was the third in a row and the seventh in eight games for the slumping Waves. As for the Broncos, they completely dominated Loyola Marymount over the weekend in a 58-35 decision at home. The victory snapped a three-game slide for the team and evened its WCC record at 1-1, with trips to San Diego and San Francisco on the slate for the next week. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Broncos hold a 63-51 advantage over Pepperdine heading into this meeting.

In an effort to get their new head coach off on the right foot, the Waves tried to put it all together on Saturday night versus Saint Mary's, but the effort came up just short of an upset. Tyrone Shelley broke out with a double-double consisting of 20 points and 14 rebounds, but he was also guilty of six turnovers as he spread himself too thin. Rico Tucker added 16 points, Daniel Johnson had 10 points and seven boards off the bench, while Malcolm Thomas came up a point shy of his own double-double as he cleared 10 rebounds. Shelley leads the team with his 15.8 ppg and is second with almost six and a half rebounds per outing, but at some point he's going to have to get a handle on his weak passing which has resulted in just 15 assists and a hefty 57 miscues already. Thomas checks in with 13.3 ppg and a team-best 9.1 rpg, but he's no better than Shelley in the passing department with a mere 20 dishes and 51 turnovers thus far. As a team, Pepperdine is averaging 19 turnovers per game but also forcing just as many while giving up 82.4 ppg.

Santa Clara turned back the clock on Saturday night, holding the LMU Lions to their lowest total in the all-time series in 70 years when the squads played to a 33-31 decision. The Broncos held the visitors to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 4-of-21 behind the three-point line, as John Bryant logged a double-double for the victors with his 11 points and team-high 11 rebounds. Brody Angley connected on 3-of-6 shots from behind the three-point line on his way to a game-best 20 points. Bryant continues to blaze his way through the WCC, averaging 17.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg to pace the Broncos in both departments, all in less than 27 minutes per game. Angley checks in with 12.1 ppg while shooting almost as well from three-point range (.415) as he is the field (.418) overall. Hardly a scoring machine, Santa Clara is producing just 62.8 ppg, but thankfully the defense is allowing a mere 61.2 ppg.

Pepperdine showed some spunk over the weekend for its new head coach, but one has to wonder how long the team can keep up that renewed spirit, especially against a defensive force like Santa Clara on the road.