BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? Pepperdine men's basketball coaches Vance Walberg and Eric Bridgeland enjoyed a successful return to Bakersfield by leading the Waves to a 90?80 win over CSUB Sunday afternoon at Rabobank Arena.

Walberg, a Roadrunner player in the late 1970's, and Bridgeland, a former CSUB assistant coach in the late 1990's, made their homecoming a happy one by leading their team back from a seven?point second half deficit to pull away down the stretch.

Bakersfield (1?5 overall) put five players in double figures, led by a 17?point, nine?rebound effort from junior forward Santwon Latunde (Landover, Md.). But freshmen Malcolm Thomas and Rico Tucker led five Waves in double figures with 16 points apiece. The difference came down to rebounding, where Tyronne Shelley pulled down 14 rebounds to help Pepperdine build a 44?34 edge on the boards.

The Roadrunners actually went into halftime with a 39?36 lead on the scoreboard and a 20?16 advantage on the glass. But Pepperdine responded by erasing both deficits in the first four minutes of the second half.

A Latunde jumper gave CSUB its biggest lead of the game at 47?40 two minutes into the second half. But Shelley responded with a short jumper of his own and Pepperdine's game?long, full?court pressure helped turn consecutive Bakersfield turnovers into the meat of a 10?0 run that gave the Waves the lead for good at 50?47.

Although they never regained the lead, the Roadrunners kept Pepperdine within shouting distance down the stretch. They had a chance to cut the deficit to a single possession inside of two minutes, but they never could get closer than five points. The Waves went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 52 seconds to keep Bakersfield at arm's length.

CSUB will take the week off for final exams before returning to action Friday night when the Spartans of San Jose State visit Rabobank Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

PEPPERDINE (2-4) -- THOMAS 6-8 4-6 16; TUCKER 5-10 5-6 16; WALBERG 5-8 3-4 14; JOHNSON 4-8 3-4 12; THOMPSON 3-6 2-2 10; SHELLEY 4-13 0-0 8; HOLMES 2-8 4-6 8; HORNBUCKLE 2-3 0-0 4; CLARDY 1-2 0-1 2; REED 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 21-29 90.

CSUB (1-5) -- LATUNDE 6-9 5-6 17; GRASMICK 4-11 4-4 16; BRAGG 4-11 4-4 12; BROWN 5-5 0-0 11; BLAKLEY 4-9 0-0 10; JOHNS 4-14 0-0 9; BROWN 2-4 1-1 5; ROBINSON 0-1 0-0 0; HALL 0-0 0-0 0; ROSE 0-1 0-0 0; JOHNSON 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 29-67
14-16 80.

Halftime: CSUB 39-36. 3-point goals--PEP 5-17 (THOMPSON 2-3; JOHNSON 1-3; WALBERG 1-1; TUCKER 1-4; REED 0-2; SHELLEY 0-4), CSUB 8-21 (GRASMICK 4-9; BLAKLEY 2-4; BROWN 1-1; JOHNS 1-6; JOHNSON 0-1). Fouled out--PEP-None, CSUB-BROWN. Rebounds--PEP 44 (SHELLEY 14), CSUB 34 (LATUNDE 9). Assists--PEP 12 (TUCKER 3), CSUB 18 (JOHNSON 8). Total fouls--PEP 18, CSUB 21. Technical fouls--PEP-None, CSUB-None. A-1535