MALIBU, Calif.  – When the Dons tipped off their season in November, first-year head coach Kyle Smith had one goal in mind for his young team which featured 13 underclassmen on a 15-man roster – get better every day.
 
Fast forward three months and the Dons can celebrate a 20-win regular season after defeating Pepperdine, 76-65 Saturday afternoon at Firestone Fieldhouse.
  Chase Foster matched his career high with 22 points, as did Frankie Ferrari, who finished with 16 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes of action off the bench to lead the Dons to their first 20-win season since 2013-14 and third since the 1985-86 campaign.
 
Lamond Murray Jr., playing in his last game in Firestone Fieldhouse, scored a game-high 31 points for the Waves, which finish the regular season at 9-21 and 5-13 in conference play.
 
"It wasn't easy by any means," said Smith. "We were a little emotional after Thursday's night's loss at LMU but I'm proud with the way our guys responded today. This game was tough – Pepperdine was playing with a lot of emotion on Senior Night and Murray was outstanding the entire game."
 
Trailing 61-60 with 3:16 remaining, USF outscored the Waves 16-4 down the stretch to complete the series sweep of Pepperdine and notch its fifth consecutive win at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
Pepperdine scored the first seven points of the game and opened up an 11-3 lead less than five minutes into the game. The Dons cut the lead to 17-16 before taking their first lead of the game at 19-17 following a Foster three. With the Dons leading 22-21, USF went on a 12-0 run to open a 34-21 advantage with 4:17 left in the first and took a 39-33 lead into intermission.
 
Foster made his first five shots from the floor, including three from distance, and scored 13 of his 22 points before the break.
 
Pepperdine (9-21, 5-13 WCC) outscored USF 8-2 to start the second half and tied the game at 41 on a three from Major. The game was still tied at 43 when the Dons went on a 11-2 run capped by a Minlend three to open a 54-45 lead with 9:35 remaining.
 
However, the Dons could not shake the game Waves, who have lost four players to season-ending injuries this year. Pepperdine tied the game at 59 and took a 61-60 lead after a Jeremy Major lay-in.
 
A three-pointer by Ferrari gave the Dons a 63-61 lead and ignited a 16-4 run that secured USF's 20th win of the season. Ferrari scored seven of his 16 points during the decisive run.
 
"Frankie was terrific tonight," said Smith. "He's been on a bit of a rollercoaster this season but he's stayed the course and he came up big for us tonight."
 
USF will be the fifth seed in next week's WCC Championships in Las Vegas and will meet either BYU or Santa Clara in a quarterfinal game on Saturday beginning at 3:00 p.m.