Pepperdine-LMU Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. - The 150th meeting ever between the Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount men's basketball teams was a classic, as the Waves used a 23-4 run to start the second half to rally for a 79-75 victory in the West Coast Conference opener for both schools at Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday.
The Waves (5-12, 1-0) continued their recent dominance over the Lions (9-8, 0-1), as they've won 12 straight at home in the series and 23 of the last 25 overall.
Pepperdine fell behind 16-3 after 6 1/2 minutes, trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half and was down 38-25 at halftime before scoring a season-high 54 second-half points.
Junior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Stoneridge Prep) scored a game-high 22 points and sophomore guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) had 17 points and both helped key the second-half rally.
Thompson made a career-high six three-pointers on seven attempts while Jackson tied his career high with four makes. The Waves connected on a season-high 14 three-pointers (going nine for 12 in the second half) and made 60.9% of their 23 attempts.
Jackson and Thompson each scored eight points in the run to start the second half. A deep three-pointer by Thompson that beat the shot clock gave Pepperdine a 43-42 lead with 14 minutes left, and seconds later, he finished a fast break with a slam dunk that ignited the home crowd. Sophomore guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS), who scored 16 points, nailed a long three-pointer to finish the run and give Pepperdine a 48-42 lead with less than 13 minutes left.
The Lions regained the lead with about five minutes remaining, but junior forward Jonathan Dupre' (Houston, Texas/Collin County CC) drained a three-pointer with two minutes remaining to put the Waves in front to stay at 67-65.
During the first 38 minutes, Pepperdine missed all five of its free throw attempts, but in the final two minutes, the Waves went 9-for-12, which was enough to clinch the victory.
"We played our worst half of basketball this season," Jackson said. "Coach chewed us out and told us to play hard. This type of win will help us. There is nothing like getting a win like this over LMU."
"We definitely needed this win," Thompson said. "It was a confidence-booster. We didn't come out with enthusiasm. At halftime, coach challenged us to put our best effort out there."
Thompson added eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
Pepperdine now leads the all-time series 90-60 with LMU. Along with an 82-65 win by Pepperdine's women in the first game of the doubleheader, the Waves now lead the PCH Challenge (a season-long competition between the two rivals) 6.0-3.5.
Pepperdine continues WCC play at home next weekend with games against Santa Clara (Thursday, Jan. 14, 8 p.m.) and San Francisco (Saturday, Jan. 16, 7 p.m.). The Santa Clara game will be on ESPNU. Fans can watch the webcasts and listen to Al Epstein's broadcasts at www.pepperdinesports.com with a subscription to Wave Casts.
