MALIBU, Calif. (AP) Glen McGowan scored 18 points as Pepperdine held on to claim its fifth consecutive win, 62-56, over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday.
The Waves (5-1) ended the first half with an 11-4 run that made it 33-21 at the break and extended its lead to 25 with a 13-0 run to start the second.
But Santa Barbara answered with a13-0 run that cut the deficit to 12 with 10 minutes left and a 11-1 run that reduced Pepperdine's lead to 53-47 with just over 4 minutes remaining.
The teams traded baskets the rest of the way.
Alex Acker and Yakhouba Diawara added 16 and 15 points, respectively, for Pepperdine. UCSB, losers of three straight after a season-opening win at San Diego State, was led by Chrismen Oliver's 14 and Josh Davis' 10.
Pepperdine won despite shooting just 39 percent (22 of 56) from the field. Santa Barbara didn't fare much better, shooting just 40 percent (21 of 52), including 33 percent in the first half.
