Highlights and Post-Game Comments

LAS VEGAS – The third game of the season between USF and Pepperdine didn't follow the same script as the two previous meetings between the two schools. A tightly-contested, hard-fought affair ultimately went Pepperdine's way as the Waves came away with a 90-86 victory in the quarterfinals of the West Coast Conference Basketball Championships in Las Vegas.
 
Devin Watson tied his career high with 33 points, while Tim Derksen added 23 and Ronnie Boyce 16 for the Dons, which saw their record even at 15-15 on the year. No other USF player scored more than five points.
 
Pepperdine's Jeremy Major made 10-of-12 shots from the floor, including 5-of-6 from distance and matched his career high with 28 points. Stacy Davis added 18, Lamond Murray, Jr. finished with 16 and Jett Raines chipped in with 12 for the Waves, which advances to Monday's semifinals.
 
USF enjoyed one of its better shooting nights of the season, finishing at 50 percent for the game, while the Waves finished at 52.6. The Dons knocked down 10-of-26 three-point attempts compared to Pepperdine, which made 9-of-18 of its long distance attempts.
 
Pepperdine held a decisive advantage at the foul line, knocking down 21-of-34 tries, compared to USF, which made 14-of-17 of its attempts.
 
The Waves outrebounded the Dons, 33-39, with Davis pulling down 12 boards for a double-double.
 
There were a total of 11 ties and eight lead changes in the game.
 
 "Tonight wasn't a togetherness issue or a toughness issue – it was an execution issue," said USF head coach Rex Walters. "That's on me to get our guys to understand the situation better. We just didn't execute down the stretch.
 
"Stacy Davis was a load for them and Jeremy Major played fantastic," said Walters. "He made a lot of big shots coming down the stretch. He was well-guarded to an extent and still managed to get his points."
 
A well-played first half saw the Dons take a 37-36 lead at intermission. Pepperdine was nursing a six-point lead at 26-20 after Davis connected on back-to-back three-pointers when USF went on 10-0 run to take a 30-26 lead at the 6:17 mark. The Dons enjoyed their largest lead at 35-30 before heading to the locker room with a one point advantage.
 
Both teams shot 50 percent in the first half with Watson scoring 13 of his 33 points over the first 20 minutes.
 
After Pepperdine scored the first four points of the second half to take a 40-37 lead, Derken and Boyce connected on three-pointers to ignite a 9-0 USF run that gave the Dons a 56-53 lead with 12:14 remaining. Murray then tied the game at 56 with a three-pointer which jump started a 13-0 Wave run as Pepperdine built a 66-56 lead with 8:56 remaining.
 
A Watson layup with 7:42 ended the Wave run, but Pepperdine had seized control of the game.
 
The Dons scratched their way back into the game and cut the Wave lead to four at 78-74 with 2:01 remaining after Watson carved his way to the rim for a lay-in. The Waves found Murray for a breakaway slam on the inbounds play to take a 80-74 lead and then Watson missed a long three-point attempt on the Dons next possession. Murray was fouled on the rebound and converted both free throws to boost the lead back to eight at 82-74 with 1:45 remaining.
 
With USF trailing 89-83 with nine seconds left, Sean Grennan connected on a three-pointer from the corner to bring the Dons to within three, but Major sealed the game by making one of two free throws with six seconds remaining to account for the final 90-86 score.
 
Walters and the Dons will look back at a season that USF finished at .500 despite losing 70 percent of its scoring and rebounding from a year ago.
 
"This ship could have sunk real quick, considering the production we lost off of last year's team," said Walters. "The will of our new players and Tim (Derksen) and Devin (Watson) were phenomenal. We never had a poor effort practice. 15-15 is not acceptable to me but this team gave everything it had all season. I couldn't be prouder of them."
 
Derksen closes his brilliant career on the Hilltop as the school's 13th all-time leading scorer with 1,437 points, while his career three-point percentage ranks sixth in the school's annals.
 
"When I got here I had one goal and that was to work as hard as I could and let the chips fall as they might," said Derksen. "I can't thank Coach Walters and Coach (Luke) Wicks enough for turning me into the person and player I am. I played with some unbelievable players and made friendships that will last me a lifetime.
 
"I don't look at it from a win-loss standpoint, rather a life standpoint. This is the way I want to go out – with people I know who will always be there for me. These guys have a real opportunity to do something real special next year and the year after."