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USF Men's Basketball - Pepperdine Game Advance
Feb. 10, 2010
By Stacy Hicklin
USF Beat Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Rex Walters knows his team's next two games will be huge in deciding how the West Coast Conference standings shake out this season.
Yet the University of San Francisco men's basketball coach also knows that if his team doesn't do a better job of defending its home court during league play, turning those games into two wins will be a difficult task.
"We haven't had good success on our home court [during the WCC season]," Walters said. "We're 2-3 and we have to do a better job of not expecting that we are just going to play well when we are at home."
To change their ways at home, the Dons have to do so against an opponent that has had USF's number recently.
USF (9-15, 4-5) hosts Pepperdine (7-17, 3-5) at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11 at War Memorial Gym.
Pepperdine has won the three out of four games against USF, prompting Walters to say, "They definitely have confidence against us."
In their most recent contest, in mid-January, Pepperdine beat USF 83-68.
The Dons trailed just 66-62 with four minutes and four seconds remaining in the game, but Pepperdine was too much down the stretch. The Waves had five players score in double digits, but it was the team's backcourt that powered Pepperdine.
Sophomore guards Keion Bell and Lorne Jackson combined to score 39 points -- nearly a half of the team's point total.
"This year, even more than last year, they have good perimeter scorers that challenge us and they have post players that so far that have outworked us," Walters said. "They are definitely a perimeter oriented offense and they do a lot to get those guys going."
Bell is second in the league in scoring with 19.5 points a game. He has scored 18 or more points in all four games he's played against USF.
Pepperdine is, however, the only team without a player in the league's top 10 rebounding list.
After jumping to the top of the WCC standings with a 3-0 start in league play, Pepperdine has cooled off significantly. The Waves have lost their past five games and are currently tied for fifth place with Loyola Marymount.
PEPPERDINE PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 2/8/10)
G. #Keion Bell, 6-3, 200, So. (19.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.9 apg)
G. #20 Lorne Jackson, 6-2, 205, So. (8.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.9 apg)
C. #4 Tanner Kerry, 6-9, 235, Fr. (2.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.1 apg)
F. #15 Mychel Thompson, 6-7, 200, Jr. (12.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.7 bpg)
F. #41 Taylor Darby, 6-8, 220, So. (6.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 0.3 apg)
LAST FOUR MEETINGS: at PEP 83, USF 68 (1/16/10); PEP 93 vs. USF 85 (3/6/09); USF 70, at PEP 62 (2/28/09); PEP 69, at USF 67 (1/29/09)
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 65-48/PEP won 2
ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:
Television: None
Radio Broadcast: Green 960 - Pat Olson & Jim Brovelli
Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast)
GameTracker: Yes Official Website: PepperdineSports.com
UP NEXT FOR THE DONS: After tackling Pepperdine Thursday, USF hosts Loyola Marymount in the 2009-10 regular season home finale Saturday, February 13. A special pregame ceremony will honor the senior class, featuring Dontae Bryant, Dior Lowhorn and Blake Wallace. The Dons and Lions will be carried live on the flagship station of Dons Basketball, Green 960 with tip-off at 7:00 PM from War Memorial Gym.
USF DONS BASKETBALL LIVE GAME BLOGGING: All USF men's basketball home games for the 2009-10 season will feature a live in-game blog. Access the blog by launching GameTracker and click on the "Chat" tab.
FOLLOW DONS BASKETBALL ON FACEBOOK: Official Dons Basketball Facebook Page
