Pepperdine-UCLA Box Score 
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Pepperdine sophomore guard Keion Bell continued to show why he is a rising star on the West Coast, but the UCLA men's basketball team rallied late to put away the visiting Waves, 71-52, on Monday night.
UCLA's lead was just five with a little more than eight minutes to play, but the Bruins (2-1) then went on a 12-1 run and continued to increase their lead in the final minutes.
Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) kept up his strong play with a game-high 22 points, 19 of which came in the second half. He's scored 20 or more points in each of Pepperdine's four games this season. Bell also had four steals, three assists and three rebounds in 32 minutes.
The last Pepperdine player to score 20-plus points in four consecutive games was Glen McGowan in January 2005, and the last Wave player to start a season on a stretch like this was Dane Suttle Sr. in 1982-83.
Unfortunately, no one else on Pepperdine (1-3) had more than six points, and the Bruins outshot the Waves 54.3% to 41.3%.
The Waves and Bruins were tied 14-14 with 8:45 to play in the first half after a couple of Pepperdine baskets. Sophomore center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) and freshman guard Caleb Willis (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS) worked a pick-and-roll that resulted in a lay-up for Moore, and junior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) drove in for a reverse lay-up.
But UCLA went on an 8-0 run over the next five minutes to go up 22-14. The Waves got it back to four points at 24-20 after a jumper by junior forward Jonathan Dupre' (Houston, Texas/Collin County CC) and a tip-in by Moore, but the Bruins scored the half's final four points and went into the break with a 28-20 advantage.
After scoring three first-half points, Bell heated up early in the second half and scored 12 of the Waves' first 15 points. The Bruins had also picked things up offensively, however, and quickly built a double-digit lead.
Another spurt by Bell got the Waves right back into it, however. He made a driving lay-up, then stole the ball at the other end and went all the way for a dunk, cutting UCLA's lead to 46-41 with less than 10 minutes to play.
It was still a five-point game at 48-43 when Bell fed junior forward Gus Clardy (Nacogdoches, Texas/Nacogdoches HS) for a short jumper with 8:25 left.
But UCLA's Drew Gordon, who had a team-high 18 points, scored the final seven of a 12-1 run that pushed UCLA's lead up to 16 at 60-44 with less than five minutes to go.
Michael Roll added 17 points for UCLA, which included five three-pointers.
The Waves are now in the midst of a five-game stretch away from Malibu. They next travel to Wyoming this weekend for the World Vision Challenge, where they will face Hampton, Monmouth and the host Cowboys. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's broadcasts at www.pepperdinesports.com with a subscription to Wave Casts.
