The San Francisco Dons entered the 2011-12 WCC portion of their schedule with high hopes for competing with Gonzaga, BYU and Santa Clara this season. Those hopes ran into a mild speed bump as the Dons were handled with relative ease by the Pepperdine Waves in Malibu Thursday evening, losing 71-59. The Dons dropped to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Dons fell behind 7-0 early in the first half but managed to even things up after the under-eight timeout. However, the Waves went on a 13-4 run to close out the half with a 39-30 lead. The Dons were held to a season-low 61 points as they shot only 37.7% from the field and a meager 16.7% from three-point territory. Angelo Caloiaro led the team with 14 points and Perris Blackwell added 11 points.
Pepperdine dominated on the glass with a 41-29 edge and shot 59.3% in the first half to take their 39-30 lead. Corbin Moore scored a game-high 19 points with 12 rebounds to lead Pepperdine. Taylor Darby added 14 points, while Caleb Willis and Jordan Baker added 10 apiece.
The Dons head home to face Loyola Marymount in their conference home opener on Saturday, December 31. The game will be broadcast live by 95.7 The Game.