Nov. 20, 2010
Final Stats
Pepperdine-CSU Bakersfield Box Score 
MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pepperdine men's basketball team had three chances in the final 20 seconds to tie the contest, but CSU Bakersfield was able to escape Firestone Fieldhouse with a 66-64 victory on Saturday night.
The Roadrunners (2-2) led by as many as 11 points in the second half before the Waves (1-3) rallied toward the end of their home opener.
Junior guard Keion Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS), who scored a season-high 26 points, made a three-point play with 41 seconds left to pull the Waves within three points at 64-61. After the Roadrunners missed the front end of a one-and-one, senior forward Mychel Thompson (Portland, Ore./Santa Margarita Catholic HS/Stoneridge Prep) took a game-tying three-point attempt that was short.
Although CSU Bakersfield's Alex Johnson made two free throws with 13 seconds left to make it a five-point game at 65-61, Bell hit a three-pointer at the 10-second mark to cut the lead to two.
The Roadrunners again missed the front end of a one-and-one with eight seconds left. Junior guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) drove to the basket but his lay-up attempt was blocked out of bounds by Stephon Carter with 0.7 seconds remaining. On the in-bounds pass, Thompson had a good look under the basket but his hurried attempt didn't fall at the buzzer.
CSU Bakersfield outshot Pepperdine, 44.2% to 40.3%, and made seven three-pointers to the Waves' three.
Bell was the only Wave to score in double-figures. Thompson had eight points, as did freshman center Jan Maehlen (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge HS), who made his first career start.
Johnson led four CSU Bakersfield players that reached double-figures with 18 points.
The Waves got off to a good start, taking their largest lead of the game at 12-7 after a tip-in by Bell. The first half had four ties and 13 lead changes, and the Roadrunners went ahead for good on two free throws by Carter that made it 28-27 with less than four minutes in the half. CSU Bakersfield went into the break with a 36-33 lead.
That lead grew to double-digits early in the second half, and the Roadrunners took their biggest lead of the game of 11 points at 53-42 with 14:15 to play after a three-pointer by Donavan Bragg.
With CSU Bakersfield holding a 60-50 lead with 11 minutes left, the Waves put on a defensive stand that kept the Roadrunners scoreless for more than six minutes, helping Pepperdine get to the point where it had the chance to tie the game at the end.
The visiting team has won all four games in the Pepperdine-CSU Bakersfield series.
The Waves next head to Missouri State for their final two consolation games of the 2010 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. Pepperdine meets the host Bears on Monday (Nov. 22) at 7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT, and then Arkansas State on Tuesday (Nov. 23) at 4:30 p.m. CT/2:30 p.m. PT. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's call of both Pepperdine games for free via Wave Casts at www.pepperdinesports.com.
