2018-19 #WCChoops Schedule | Championship Central | Crumpacker 2018-19 Archives
By John Crumpacker
#WCChoops Columnist
It says here that the second day of the 2019 University Credit Union West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament could potentially yield a pair of interesting and competitive games. Of course, the opposite could develop at the Orleans Arena on Friday with a couple of dull, runaway games.
Bet on the former. Better yet, don’t bet at all.
Watch.
No. 8 Pepperdine opened the tourney with a 61-53 victory over No. 9 Pacific, the same Pacific team that swept the Waves in the regular season. That earned Pepperdine a date with longtime Southern California rival No. 5 Loyola Marymount at 6 p.m.
The teams split their games during the season, Pepperdine winning the first one 77-62 and LMU the second one 74-70.
Friday’s nightcap has No. 7 San Diego taking on No. 6 Santa Clara for only the second time this season. With the WCC’s move to a 16-game season, the Toreros and Broncos played just once, way back on Jan. 3 in a game won by San Diego 68-56. To get to the second round, USD put an end to No. 10 Portland’s season 67-47.
“Let’s hit the reset button and get ready to play a good Santa Clara team in less than 24 hours,’’ USD coach
Sam Scholl said.
Easy for you to say, Sam. You’ll be in loafers on the sideline while your players are making those squeaky-sneakers sound on the court for their second game in two days.
“It’s going to be hard,’’ San Diego’s All-WCC forward
Isaiah Pineiro said. “As seniors, it’s our last go-round. We can’t be tired. Mentally we knew it was going to be a grind for six days. We’re prepared for it.’’
To Portland’s credit, the Pilots stayed with the Toreros in the first half, leaving the court trailing by only four, 34-30. But Portland scored just one point in the first 6:50 of the second half, scored 17 total and that was that.
That kind of defensive effort, and the fact all five of his starters scored in double figures – Pineiro led the way with 16, along with 10 rebounds – put a smile on Scholl’s face as he talked in a hoarse voice about his team’s performance.
“Fantastic effort by our guys, especially coming out in the second half being determined defensively,’’ Scholl said. “That’s our identity.’’
Asked about playing Santa Clara more than two months after their first game, Scholl said, “The first thing we have to understand is how improved Santa Clara is. They just kept getting better and better.’’
In summing up the first day of the men’s tourney, this is
What We Learned:
- Basketball is a contact sport, especially when a head collides with a knee, as happened to Pepperdine’s Andre Ball. With 15:18 to go in the first half, Ball went up to gather in a lob pass but could not complete the play. As he fell to the court, the back of his head struck the knee of a sitting photographer to the right of the stanchion. Ball lay motionless in a prone position for more than a few minutes as medical personnel attended to him. His neck and head were stabilized, and he was wheeled off on a gurney and taken to a local hospital. There was no immediate word on his condition.
- Pepperdine’s Victor Ohia Obioha, a 6-foot-9 freshman, was a sight to behold as he recorded three soaring blocks, two in rapid succession that inspired his team and deflated Pacific. “All of a sudden, when they drove to the rim, he was there,’’ coach Lorenzo Romar said. “He blocked two shots. It allowed our guys to have more confidence on the perimeter that (Ohio Obioha) is going to be there to stop the shot.’’
- Anyone with an ounce of empathy must wish better days ahead for Portland as it finished off a grim season 7-25 overall and winless in WCC play. Coach Terry Porter had 11 freshmen and sophomores this season who gained experience from a most challenging season. “We had pretty good effort,’’ Porter said. “It’s a young team. Some of our results weren’t to our liking. Tonight was a microcosm of our season. The guys showed good resilience.’’