Pepperdine beats CS Dominguez Hills 100-66 in Romar's return

Nov 8, 2018, 05:56 am

MALIBU, Calif. -- Eric Cooper Jr. scored 20 points and Pepperdine welcomed back coach Lorenzo Romar with a 100-66 victory over Division II Cal State Dominguez Hill on Wednesday night.

Romar began his second stint as coach of the Waves after posting a 391-284 record in 21 seasons as head coach, including 15 at Washington (2002-17) and three at Saint Louis (1999-2002). Romar was 42-44 in his first three seasons (1997-99) at Pepperdine. He spent last season on Sean Miller's staff at Arizona.

Cooper was 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Jade' Smith added 18 points, Darnell Dunn had 17 and Colbey Ross chipped in 15 for the Waves. Freshman Kessler Edwards grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds and finished with 10 points.

Gabriel Hicks scored 14 points and Mikey Hatfield had 10 to lead Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The Toros stayed within single digits until Cooper's 3-pointer with six minutes left in the first half sparked a 17-10 surge to give the Waves a 51-33 halftime lead.

Pepperdine opened the second half on a 21-6 run, capped by Hicks' 3-pointer and cruised from there.