In another West Coast Conference game:

San Francisco 59, Pepperdine 56--Center Hakeem Ward’s defensive stop on a close-range shot by the Waves’ Bryan Hill in the closing seconds was the key play in the Dons’ victory at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Pepperdine (3-11, 1-1), using a press to force a rash of San Francisco mistakes, rallied from an 11-point deficit in the last three minutes and pulled within 58-56 on a layup by Tezale Archie with 21 seconds to play.

San Francisco’s Zerrick Campbell missed a one-and-one free throw and, after a Pepperdine timeout, Hill got the ball near the free-throw line and dribbled down low to the right of the basket. But as he turned to shoot, Hill stumbled and missed short.

Damian Cantrell made one of two free throws with three seconds left for the Dons (7-7, 2-0), who then watched Archie’s half-court shot at the buzzer bounce off the front of the rim.

The victory completed a weekend sweep for San Francisco, which beat Loyola Marymount on Friday night, and sweetened the homecoming for Coach Phil Mathews, the former Ventura College coach. Ward, one of four transfers from Ventura College who scored for the Dons, finished with 16 points.