Pepperdine-Fresno State Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - Two of the bright young stars on the West Coast put on a show Tuesday night, but Paul George and Fresno State outdueled Keion Bell and Pepperdine, 80-72, in men's basketball action at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS), a sophomore guard who entered the game as one of only three players in the nation averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and four assists, did nothing to harm that fact as he tallied 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
George (a sophomore forward who originally signed a letter-of-intent with Pepperdine) tied his career high with 29 points, and scored 24 in the second half as the Bulldogs rallied from a 39-36 halftime deficit.
The Waves lost their third straight game to drop to 3-6, while the Bulldogs improved to 4-4.
Pepperdine also got 15 points from sophomore forward Dane Suttle Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Summit College Prep) and 11 from junior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep).
Pepperdine never trailed during an entertaining first half. The Waves quickly jumped out to an 8-0 lead as Suttle drained a three-pointer, sophomore center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos) scored on a short jumper and junior forward Jonathan Dupre' (Houston, Texas/Collin County CC) hit a three-pointer. Later in the half, the lead grew to as many as nine points, first at 30-21 with 5:40 to go when Bell scored a lay-up after collecting his own missed shot.
A late 8-0 run by Fresno State, capped by Steven Shepp's fifth three-pointer of the half, got the Bulldogs within one point at 35-34 with less than two minutes to go, and Pepperdine went into the break with a 39-36 lead.
George had a remarkable four minutes to start the second half, scoring 14 quick points, including four three-pointers. He keyed a 16-2 run to start the half that lifted Fresno State to an 11-point lead at 52-41.
Pepperdine wasn't out of it, however, as the Waves recovered with a 13-0 run that was fueled by two three-pointers by Thompson. That put the Waves back in front with a 54-52 lead with less than 12 minutes to play.
Fresno State's Greg Smith then had three dunks during an 8-1 run, putting the Bulldogs back ahead 60-55 with eight minutes left.
Pepperdine got as close as three points and had a shot to tie the game with 2 1/2 minutes left and trailing 70-67, but instead the Bulldogs scored six straight points to help ice the game.
The final statistics were fairly even. Pepperdine had a 42.0%-40.6% shooting edge, while Fresno State had advantages in turnovers (10-14) and rebounding (39-34).
The Waves continue their four-game homestand this Thursday (Dec. 10) against California Baptist at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game and listen to Al Epstein's broadcast at www.pepperdinesports.com with a subscription to Wave Casts.
