Pepperdine-Portland State Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's basketball team couldn't overcome Portland State's barrage of three-pointers as the Vikings posted a 93-81 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Portland State (5-4) made 17 three-pointers for the game, which tied the Firestone Fieldhouse record and was one shy of the school record. The Vikings connected on 52 percent of their 33 attempts.
The Waves (3-8) nearly had six players score in double-figures. Sophomore guards Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) and Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) each had a team-high 16 points, with Bell also collecting five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Sophomore forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) had 14 points and eight rebounds, junior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) had 13 points and seven rebounds, junior forward Jonathan Dupre' (Houston, Texas/Collin County CC) added 11 points and sophomore forward Dane Suttle Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Summit College Prep) had nine points.
Portland State's Phil Nelson scored a career-high 28 points and had eight of his team's three-pointers.
The Waves took an early 7-3 lead after Dupre' converted a traditional three-point play. A 6-0 run not long after, however, put the Vikings ahead 12-9 and gave them a lead they would keep for the rest of the half. Nelson's fourth three-pointer of the half capped a 10-0 run that gave Portland State its largest lead of the half at 27-15 with 11:25 to go.
But Pepperdine immediately went on a 7-0 run that included Bell grabbing a defensive rebound and going baseline-to-baseline for a lay-up, cutting the lead to 27-22 with 9:35 left. A 9-3 run that featured jumpers by Thompson and Dupre' and a steal and dunk by Bell got the Waves back within two points at 35-33 with four minutes to go.
But, on the strength of nine first-half three-pointers, Portland State went into halftime with a 43-38 advantage.
The Waves scored the first five points of the second half as Dupre' hit a jumper and Jackson made a three-pointer to tie the game at 43-43.
Portland State hit two free throws the next time down the floor, however, and the Waves never had a chance to retake the lead as the Vikings began to pull away. Nelson's eighth three-pointer made it a double-digit lead again at 65-55 with 11:46 left.
Down by 12, Darby had two lay-ups and Bell had a three-point play to cut the deficit to five points at 67-62 with 9:20 to go. But the Vikings immediately went on a 12-0 run to take their biggest lead of 17 points at 79-62 with 6 1/2 minutes left. Pepperdine got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
For the game, Portland State shot 54.8% to Pepperdine's 43.7%. The Waves committed just six turnovers and forced 10 and also had a 36-34 rebounding edge.
After final exams this week, the Waves finish their four-game homestand on Friday (Dec. 18) against New Mexico State at 7:30 p.m. Fans can watch the game and listen to Al Epstein's broadcast at www.pepperdinesports.com with a subscription to Wave Casts. It's a doubleheader with the women's team, which plays Nevada at 5 p.m.
