SPOKANE, Wash. - First place in the West Coast Conference will be up for grabs Thursday at Firestone Fieldhouse when Gonzaga University visits Pepperdine University.

The Zags are 4-1 and hold a half-game lead over 4-2 Pepperdine and San Francisco.

Gonzaga had its 22-game West Coast Conference winning streak snapped last Thursday at Portland, which also snapped a 20-game winning streak against the Pilots and a 17-game Zag winning streak at the Chiles Center. The Pilots prevailed 82-73.

While Gonzaga lost its 20-game winning streak against Portland last week, the Bulldogs will be out to preserve the longest current winning streak it has against a West Coast Conference team when the Bulldogs travel to Pepperdine Thursday. At the end of the 1993 season Gonzaga trailed Pepperdine 26-6 in their series dating back to 1965, but the Zags enter Thursday's game with a 44-31 lead in the series. The Bulldogs bring a 24-game series winning streak into Thursday's game, and Gonzaga has gone 38-5 in the last 16 seasons. Pepperdine's last win was 88-79 in Malibu, Calif., on Jan. 18, 2002. Gonzaga has won 11 straight in Firestone Fieldhouse on the Waves campus.