Pepperdine University
Arizona State
Men's Basketball Victorious at Arizona State, 66-60
11/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 15, 2011
Pepperdine-Arizona State Box Score 
The Marty Wilson era has gotten off to an impressive and somewhat historic start, as the Waves (2-0) have won consecutive games to start a season for the first time since 1999-00. He's only the third full-time head coach at Pepperdine to win his first two games (Jan van Breda Kolff and Wade Ruby).
"I'm very happy," Wilson said. "Our guys stuck to the game plan, our guys were very disciplined. We've been preaching toughness and defense and we did a great job of it today. I'm very, very proud of our guys."
The Waves pressured the Sun Devils (1-1) into 34.0% shooting from the field, including a 7-for-27 effort from beyond the three-point line (25.9%).
Pepperdine had a tremendously balanced effort on offense. Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) was the only Wave to score in double-figures, and that didn't happen until the final minute of the game. All 10 players that got into the game scored for Pepperdine. The Waves shot 38.3% from the field, which was just enough for the win.
Three-point shooting helped the Waves to an early lead. They made their first six of the contest, went 7-for-9 in the first half and finished 8-for-11 (72.7%) for the game. Five different players made three-pointers.
The Waves led nearly throughout the game, never trailing again after Lowery made a lay-up with 16:35 left in the first half to give Pepperdine a 9-8 lead. Sophomore guard Nikolas Skouen (Bergen, Norway/Pratt CC) hit a three-pointer and senior center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) made two free throws to make the score 14-8.
A 5-0 run that began with a three-pointer by freshman guard Jordan Baker (Tempe, Ariz./Tempe HS) and single free throws from Lowery and sophomore forward Hector Harold (Pasadena, Calif./Northfield Mount Hermon School) gave the Waves their largest lead of the first half at 32-20 with 6:22 to play. The Sun Devils would finish the half strong, however, cutting Pepperdine's advantage at the break in half to 35-29.
ASU pared the lead to three points on a couple of occasions early in the second half, but junior guard Caleb Willis (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS) sank two free throws and then drained a 30-foot three-pointer to beat the shot clock, putting the Waves back ahead 46-37 with 12 minutes to go.
The Waves took their largest lead of the game at 14 points when senior forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) completed a three-point play, making the score 56-42 with 7:11 left.
It wasn't over yet, however, as ASU responded with a 10-2 run over the next five-plus minutes, cutting the Waves' lead to 58-52 with a little less than two minutes to play.
A putback by Darby helped the Waves regain their momentum, and though ASU's Trent Lockett (who had a game-high 23 points) made several big baskets down the stretch, Lowery made six free throws in the final 34 seconds to preserve the victory.
After Lowery, Darby was next on the scoreboard with nine points. Baker, who also had a successful homecoming, and freshman forward Ramon Eaton (Sacramento, Calif./Sheldon HS) each scored seven points. Moore led the Waves in rebounding for the second straight game with nine.
The Waves and Sun Devils haven't played much over the years, but the win ended a five-game ASU win streak in the series and was Pepperdine's first over ASU since December 1957.
Pepperdine helped the West Coast Conference improve to 3-1 against the Pac-12 Conference so far this season, with Loyola Marymount previously beating UCLA and Gonzaga defeating Washington State. The Waves will also take on the Bruins and Cougars later this season.
Pepperdine is in the midst of playing four of five games on the road. Next up is a contest at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday (Nov. 19) at 7 p.m. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's broadcast and join the Waves' interactive live game blog at www.pepperdinesports.com.
