Pepperdine 83, Richmond 77

Monday December 16, 2002

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) Terrance Johnson scored a season-high 23 points as Pepperdine defeated Richmond 83-77 in the opening round of the Stanford Invitational on Monday night.

Jimmy Miggins added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Waves (4-3) won their fourth in five games. Alex Acker added 16 points and Mike Westphal had 11.

Jeff Myers and Tony Dobbins each scored 17 for Richmond (3-3), which dropped its second straight. Jamaal Scott added 16.

Pepperdine will play the winner of the later game between Stanford and Montana for the tournament championship on Tuesday.

Richmond senior guard Reggie Brown, who finished with 10 points, made his first appearance of the season. He missed the first five games because of a lower back sprain.

Myers hit a 3-pointer with 14:27 left in the game to tie the game at 47. The Spiders, making their first trip to California in five years, scored 12 unanswered points in the first five minutes of the second half to put themselves back in the game.

The game was still tied seven minutes later when Miggins hit a pair of free throws and Pepperdine began pulling away.

Pepperdine used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to forge a 25-15 lead with 6:48 left. Johnson and Westphal combined for 12 points during the run.

The Spiders went scoreless over five minutes, missing five shots and turning the ball over twice.

Johnson hit a 3-pointer with less than three seconds left as the Waves took a 40-27 lead into halftime.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)