Northwestern
Pepperdine
Men's Basketball Stunned Again by Pepperdine, 55-53
12/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2000
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - David Lalazarian made 2-of-3 free throws with 4.6 seconds to help Pepperdine extend its home winning streak to 14 games, defeating Northwestern 55-53 Saturday.
Lalazarian went up for a wild 3-point shot with the shot clock running down and mere seconds left of the game clock. His shot missed, but the whistle blew and a foul was called on Northwestern's Ed McCants.
Northwestern (4-4) had a chance to tie the game, but Tavaras Hardy fumbled a Collier Drayton pass underneath the basket as time expired. Hardy nevertheless had a stellar performance, finishing with 10 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the 2000-01 season.
Northwestern trailed, 27-22, at the half, but shot out with a 14-6 run to start the second half and grabbed a 36-33 advantage. Pepperdine responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead, 41-36, but NU answered back with five straight points and it was 41-41 with seven minutes to play.
Four free throws by Hardy countered a jumper by Pepperdine's Kelvin Gibbs and a Lalazarian freebie, and when Drayton drained his fourth 3-pointer of the day the 'Cats were up, 48-44, with four minutes left.
A Hardy jumper was sandwiched between treys by the Waves' Derrick Anderson and Boomer Brazzle, tying the game up again at 50. Gibbs then hit three foul shots over a 53-second span, giving Pepperdine a 53-50 lead with 1:02 to play. McCants responded with a long 3-pointer, tying the score with 36 seconds to play. That led to Lalazarian's final effort.
Drayton led the way for NU with 13 points. Prior to Saturday, he had hit just one 3-pointer all season. For Pepperdine -- which shot just 33 percent from the field (17-52) -- Gibbs and Lalazarian finished with 13 points apiece.
Northwestern will participate in the San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico, starting Wednesday, December 20. The Wildcats will meet Kent State in the first-round of the three-day, eight-team event.
