Zags fight through it

MALIBU, Calif. – Turns out, there still is a way to take the spotlight off Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison. Just have Kobe Bryant walk into the gym while Morrison’s being introduced as a member of the Bulldogs’ starting lineup.

That’s what happened Monday night in Firestone Fieldhouse. And the arrival of the Los Angeles Lakers superstar set off a round of cheers and a finger-pointing salute from the sellout crowd of 3,217 on hand to watch the West Coast Conference showdown between GU and Pepperdine.

Surprisingly, Morrison seemed almost content – on this night, at least – to let the focus shift elsewhere, especially on the court. The 6-foot-8 junior forward deferred, instead, to teammates J.P. Batista and Pierre-Marie Altidor-Cespedes as the fifth-ranked Zags turned back Pepperdine 81-71 and picked up their sixth consecutive regular-season WCC title.

Not that Morrison remained completely invisible. The projected NBA lottery pick finished with 26 points and five rebounds, but did most of his scoring with the game pretty much in hand.

Prior to that, it was the inside work of Batista, who posted a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double – his 11th of the season – and the early outside shooting of Altidor-Cespedes, who added a career-high 17 points and four assists, that made the difference in a physical, foul-plagued game that wasn’t much fun to watch.

All told, 55 fouls were called in the ragged contest, the final home game of the season for the Waves (7-17, 3-9), who lost their fifth straight and 10th in a row to the Zags (22-3, 12-0), despite getting 25 points from senior guard Tashaan Forehan-Kelly.

GU, which needs home wins over San Diego on Saturday and San Francisco next Monday to finish unbeaten in WCC play for the second time in three seasons, ran its winning streak to 14, matching the longest in the nation, and posted its 23rd consecutive win over a WCC opponent.

Still, coach Mark Few was not pleased with his team’s effort, which let Pepperdine hang around much longer them most expected.

“I think we were frustrated tonight,” Few said, “and I think that had to do with Pepperdine. They came out and played us tough, played us physical and got after us a little bit. And we played like a frustrated basketball team.

“We’ve got to come out and be a more aggressive team at the start to avoid a situation like that. We let them get their heads up and feeling good about themselves and, suddenly, we had a tiger by the tail.”

Pepperdine rode the early emotion generated by the appearance of Bryant – and three early buckets, including a pair of 3-pointers by Forehan-Kelly – to an early 13-7 lead. The Zags failed to match the Waves’ early surge of energy, but managed to put together a 16-2 run midway through the opening period to take a 27-21 lead they never relinquished.

GU’s run, while effective, wasn’t all that efficient and included four missed free throws and a pair of blown dunks by freshmen Jeremy Pargo and Larry Gurgainious. The biggest factor proved to be Pepperdine’s inability to score.

The Waves, following their quick start, staggered through a field-goal drought that lasted almost eight minutes, missing 11 straight shots and turning the ball over four times.

Morrison, despite missing his first five shots, finished the half with 10 points, while Altidor-Cespedes added nine on 3-for-3 shooting from 3-point range. Forehan-Kelly had 15 first-half points and also led the Waves in rebounding with six.

“He was great tonight,” Few said of Altidor-Cespedes, his sophomore guard, who finised 5-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. “That’s probably the best game of his career. He really has a nice stroke, and that’s why we’ve been after him to shoot more.”

Also on hand for Monday’s game were former NBA star Reggie Miller and former Zag Ronny Turiaf, with the Lakers.

GU 97, Pepperdine 83

Percentages: FG .431, FT .763. 3-Point Goals: 8-18, .444. (Morrison 1-6, Batista 0-1, Altidor-Cespedes 4-5, Ravio 2-4, Heytvelt 1-2) Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 2 (Batista, Heytvelt). Turnovers: 12 (Morrison 3, Mallon, Batista 3, Altidor-Cespedes 2, Pargo, Pendergraft 2) Steals: 5 (Morrison 2, Raivio, Pargo, Gurganious. Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .397, FT .722. 3-Point Goals: 8-21 (Forehan-Kelly 3-7, Barlow 1-2, Pranciltiauskas 1-1, Costain 3-8, Grubb 0-1, Galick 0-1, Horning 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 5 (Henry 2, Forehan-Kelly, Grubb 2). Turnovers: 13 (Jarbo, Henry 2, Forehan-Kelly 3, Barlow 3, Pranciliauskas, Grubb 2, Oakes) Steals: 6 (Henry, Forehan-Kelly 3, Pranciliauskas, Grubb). Technical Fouls: None.

Halftime–Gonzaga 39, Pepperdine 32. A–3,217.