First Half

What happened: A traffic jam outside Arco Arena made many late for the opening tip. Apparently, Pepperdine’s offense was stuck outside as well. Wake Forest scored the first nine points and eventually built a 15-2 advantage, forcing the Waves to play a frantic game of catch-up the rest of the half.

Not in the box score: With its sluggish offense and its early inability to make anything happen down low, Pepperdine looked like an intimidated team. It was a far different face from the one the Waves presented while knocking off UCLA and USC within eight days in late November and early December.

Winning number: Pepperdine was able to claw back to within three points at the break by outrebounding the bigger Demon Deacons, 20-15. And junior guard Devin Montgomery, who was averaging 11.4 points, scored 13 in the half.

Wrong number: Pepperdine’s perimeter defense allowed Wake Forest, which came into the game averaging 6.9 three-pointers, to knock down four of nine shots from beyond the three-point stripe in the half.

Leading scorers: Pepperdine--Montgomery 13, Glen McGowan 8, Jimmy Miggins and Boomer Brazzle 5; Wake Forest--Craig Dawson 9, Antwan Scott 8, Josh Howard 6.

Leading rebounders: Pepperdine--Cedric Suitt 5, Brazzle 4; Wake Forest--Scott and Vytas Danelius 3.