Pepperdine Waves vs Saint Mary's Gaels Match Player Stats On Mar 03, 2018

Hermanson drained three 3-pointers in that span, his second one giving the second-seeded Gaels a 65-62 lead with 2:28 remaining. His final one made it 68-64 at the 1:43 mark, allowing Saint Mary's (28-4) to survive after trailing almost all night.

The 10th-seeded Waves (6-26) had a chance to force overtime after Hermanson walked with 3.5 seconds left, but Colbey Ross' fadeaway 3-point attempt from the right wing came up short as the buzzer sounded. The game marked the end of coach Marty Wilson's seven-year tenure at Pepperdine, as he resigned in February.

Jordan Ford scored a game-high 19 points for the Gaels, while WCC Player of the Year Jock Landale added 17 points and 19 rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Emmett Naar finished with 16 points and Hermanson netted 14.

Ross and Darnell Dunn each tallied 15 points for the Waves, while Trae Berhow and Cameron Edwards added 13 apiece. Pepperdine led for more than 33 minutes and owned a 15-point advantage in the first half but couldn't finish off what would have been one of the season's biggest upsets.

Saint Mary's will play third-seeded BYU in Monday night's second WCC semifinal. Top-seeded Gonzaga will oppose fourth-seeded San Francisco in the other semifinal.

Pepperdine put Saint Mary's in trouble quickly. Beginning with Amadi Udenyi's jumper at the 17:17 mark, the Waves rattled off 14 consecutive points for a stunning 19-4 advantage with 12:34 remaining in the first half.

The Waves checked off all the boxes defensively, too, shutting off Landale and not allowing any other Saint Mary's player to take up slack during the run. Landale finally ended the Gaels' 6:31 drought with a layup at the 11:09 mark.

However, even after Saint Mary's used a 19-3 spurt to grab a 23-22 edge, Pepperdine regained control in the half's final 3:50. When Dunn converted a layup with 28 seconds remaining, the Waves took a shocking 33-28 advantage to halftime.

--Field Level Media