Lamond Murray Jr., the WCC’s leading scoring, leads the Waves

It’s the second time around for Gonzaga and Pepperdine with the rematch coming Saturday at sold-out Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

The Zags won the first encounter 92-62 in late December and the Waves’ Lamond Murray Jr. remains the top priority on Gonzaga’s scouting report. The 6-foot-5 senior guard showed his versatile scoring ability with 13 first-half points in the first meeting but GU clamped down in the second half. Murray finished with 19 points and six turnovers.

Murray is the top scorer in the WCC at 20.8 points per game, just in front of BYU’s Eric Mika (20.5). Murray shoots 50 percent from the field and 43 percent beyond the 3-point line.

Gonzaga will likely rotate defenders with Nigel Williams-Goss, Jordan Mathews and Silas Melson taking turns on Murray. Williams-Goss helped slow Murray in final half the initial meeting.