The first PCH Cup meeting of the season was a sweep for the Waves, but it wasn’t easy. The real game back in 2016 went into overtime. True to form between the rivals, the three simulations had margins of seven, one and one. However, the simulations took a overtime game that finished in the 60s and turned it into one that went into the 80s and 90s with five fewer minutes.
Real: [W] Pepperdine 68, LMU 65 (OT) — 1-2
CB2K: [W] Pepperdine 81, LMU 74 — 1-2
APC: [W] Pepperdine 89, LMU 88 — 2-1
CCB: [W] Pepperdine 91, LMU 90 — 2-1
The Waves finally won a cards-and-dice game after two opening losses. Pepperdine led by 10 right at the start, then kept a margin from about six to 12 for the entirety of the contest. In the Action PC game, the Waves fell behind by 10 less than five minutes in. In Action! PC, Pepperdine had a 14-point lead with six minutes to play, then had to hold on at the end. It was a four-point game but LMU hit a three at the buzzer for the one-point finish. The Courtside College Basketball game was the most dramatic, as Pepperdine trailed by eight with under five minutes to play. There were four lead changes in the final minute, with Lamond Murray Jr. hitting the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds left. Stacy Davis blocked LMU’s last-second shot.
Something that stood out in the simulation was the free throw difference. The real game definitely went the Waves’ favor at the line (17-for-26 to 10-for-17), but in the cards-and-dice game it was 23-for-39 vs. 9-for-12, and in the Action! PC computer game it was 32-for-46 vs. 16-for-22. Though the free throws were even in the final simulation, the big break came when LMU’s Adom Jacko fouled out in the second half.
The shooting continues to be much better in the simulations than in real life. The Waves hit for better than 50% in two of them and were at 47% in the other. It was 43% in the real game. Jett Raines had a 30-point game in Action! PC, something he never did in real life, though it was aided by a 14-for-21 effort at the foul line. Stacy Davis only had 11 in the real game but was consistent in the sims with 18, 19 and 20 points.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 