MALIBU, Calif.  – If Thursday night's 82-72 victory at Pepperdine wasn't the Dons most satisfying win of the season, it had to be close to the top of USF's happy meter.
 
Not only did the Dons avenge an earlier season loss to Pepperdine, USF managed to close to within a half game of the fourth place Waves in the WCC standings, as teams jockey for position in the upcoming WCC Championships in Las Vegas.
 
Ronnie Boyce matched his career high with 25 points while Devin Watson finished with 21 as USF (15-11, 8-7 WCC) surpassed last year's win total. The Dons have now won eight out of the last nine games in the series against the Pepperdine, including four straight in Malibu.
 
In addition to Boyce and Watson, Tim Derksen finished the game with 18 points while Uche Ofoegbu contributed 12. No other Dons' player scored more than two points.
 
Stacy Davis, who set Pepperdine's career scoring record, led all Wave scorers with 20 points while Jett Raines added 18. Lamond Murray, Jr. (15) and Jeremy Major (13) also scored in double figures.
 
The Dons outrebounded the Waves, 40-36 and limited Pepperdine to just nine offensive boards and four second chance points.
 
USF is now 30-16 in the month of February dating back to the 2009-10 season and are 18-11 in its last 29 conference road games over the last four seasons.
 
The two teams were never separated by more than four points in the first half. Boyce scored 17 of his 25 points before intermission while Derksen added 12 but it was a three-pointer by Ofoegbu just before the horn gave the Dons a 42-41 lead at the break.
 
The Dons scored first seven points of second half to open a 49-41 lead at the 17:55 mark and extended the lead to eight at 57-48 when Watson hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14:43 remaining.
 
Holding a 63-58 lead with 10:33 left, the Dons came up empty on their next seven possessions but Pepperdine couldn't take full advantage of USF's sloppy stretch and managed to cut the lead to just one at 63-62 following a driving layup by Raines.
 
USF's lead was two at 68-66 when the Dons seized control of the game with a 12-3 run which boosted the lead to 11 at 80-69 with 1:21 left. Watson keyed the run by nailing two of his four three-pointers in the game's final two and a half minutes.
 
The Dons finished off the Waves at the foul line to win for the fourth consecutive season at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
After shooting 58.6 percent in the first half, the Waves managed to make just 9-of-30 (30.0) of their shots from the floor after intermission, including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. The Dons limited Davis to just four second half points while Murray scored just five.
 
"I'm proud of the effort we showed tonight," said USF head coach Rex Walters. "Pepperdine is a team that I can see winning three games in Las Vegas. I'm really proud of our guys and was impressed with their focus and execution of our game plan."
 
Boyce set the tone for the Dons in the first half, making 8-of-11 shots from the floor and scoring 17 points over the first 20 minutes of the game. He added eight more in the second half and went over the 20 point mark for the sixth time this season. Boyce is now averaging 16.5 points a game against WCC foes this season.
 
"We brought Ronnie off the bench tonight and he really answered the challenge," said Walters. "He gave us a great effort and was really locked in all night. He has a scorer's mentality and can really rack up the points in a hurry."
 
When USF needed key baskets at the end of the game, the Dons turned to Watson, who scored eight of his 21 points over the final 3:50 of the game. The 21-point effort marked the sophomore's 15th 20-point game of the season.
 
"He has a confidence and swagger about him like perhaps like no other player I've had here," said Walters. "I feel really good when the ball is in Devin's hands and he is only going to get better."
 
USF will return to action Saturday afternoon when the Dons meet Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion beginning at 1:00 p.m. The game will be featured as the WCC's Game of the Week.