Prince, Pepperdine Stop San Diego

When University of San Diego basketball Coach Brad Holland called Pepperdine “the best 2-10 team around” earlier this week, he sounded like Lou Holtz pumping up a cupcake opponent.

Friday night, Holland looked like a prophet.

Pepperdine seemingly had little chance against San Diego, which had won five consecutive games and played competitively against two ranked teams, but the Waves opened 1997 and West Coast Conference play with an upset victory before 1,373 at Firestone Fieldhouse.

After building an 11-point lead in the second half, Pepperdine (3-10) maintained at least a five-point margin in the last five minutes despite some near-fatal mistakes.

“Quite frankly, I don’t care how we won, as long as we won. To win this game gives our guys the confidence to win some more down the road,” Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “It was nerve-racking. That had to be the longest [last] four minutes in the history of a basketball game.”

They were longer for Holland. San Diego (8-5), which lost by seven to top-ranked Kansas and by two to No. 21 Stanford, shot 38.6% and made only four of 19 three-point shots, frustrated by Pepperdine’s staunch defense.

Sophomore forward Tommie Prince was the biggest thorn in San Diego’s side, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds. His follow shot with 2:26 to play gave the Waves a 65-58 lead, and he made two free throws in the last 16 seconds.

Prince entered the game making only 18% of his three-point shots, but he turned that around with a three-of-five effort.