Pepperdine University
Texas-San Antonio
Moore Fuels Waves' Comeback Overtime Win at UTSA
11/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2011
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Pepperdine men's basketball team came from behind to earn a notable 70-64 overtime win at Texas-San Antonio on Saturday. Senior center Corbin Moore gave a tremendous performance, including the first three-pointer of his career that tied the game toward the end of regulation.
Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) had 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. The first three-point attempt of his career was good from the right corner with 10.1 seconds left, tying the game at 62-62, and from there it would go to an extra five minutes.
In the overtime, Pepperdine (3-2) didn't allow UTSA (3-3) to make a field goal. The Waves scored the game's final eight points to earn the victory over the Roadrunners, a 2011 NCAA Tournament team. Coupled with the win over Arizona State, the Waves already have two significant road victories to their credit.
Freshman guard Jordan Baker (Tempe, Ariz./Tempe HS) scored a season-high 14 points, including a couple of key baskets late in regulation. Senior forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Nikolas Skouen (Bergen, Norway/Pratt CC) scored 11 points and junior guard Joshua Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) had 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
"I'm proud of how we stayed together," Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said. "We were very disciplined. We had to be disciplined offensively and defensively. We got back to our fundamentals of defending the ball, making it tough for them to get easy shots. We were very physical. We try to pride ourselves on defensive toughness and today we did."
The Roadrunners scored the first two points of overtime via free throws (though they made just two of six in the period), but Moore knotted things back up with a jumper from the left baseline with three minutes left.
The Waves took their first lead in OT via Lowery, who drove in made a short shot on the right with 1:11 left. After a UTSA turnover, junior guard Caleb Willis (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS) worked the shot clock down, then scored his first two points of the game on a jumper from the top of the key, giving Pepperdine a 68-64 lead with 21.6 seconds left.
UTSA missed on two attempts, and Willis ended things by sinking two free throws with 6.8 seconds left. UTSA went 0-for-5 from the field in overtime and committed two turnovers.
Pepperdine's shooting improved over the course of the game and the Waves finished at 41.7% from the field. They held the Roadrunners to 35.1% shooting.
The Waves also had a 45-38 edge on the boards. Both teams committed 17 turnovers, with Pepperdine getting a slim 18-14 advantage in points off turnovers.
The first half saw UTSA jump out to a 10-2 lead, and the Roadrunners took their biggest lead of the game at 32-20 with about a minute and a half left. But Skouen hit a three-pointer, and then Lowery drained a three at the halftime buzzer to cut the deficit in half to 32-26 at the break.
The Waves kept things close for the first 12 minutes of the second half, then took their first lead of the game at 48-46 on a three-point play by Baker with 7:46 to go. A three-pointer by Lowery would give the Waves the lead again at 51-50 with less than six minutes left.
But UTSA would regroup and would take a 60-54 lead with two minutes left. Baker got credit for a jumper despite committing an offensive foul on the follow through, and 20 seconds later, Moore sank a free throw to make it 60-57 with 1:21 left.
UTSA hit one of two free throws with 36 seconds remaining, and then Baker once again hit a floater in the lane, yet committed an offensive foul after the shot. Baker fouled out on the play, but the basket counted again, cutting the UTSA lead to 61-59 with 30 seconds left.
On the ensuing free throws, UTSA hit one of two again, giving the Waves the opportunity to tie the game, which they did on Moore's three-pointer.
"I knew we needed a three," Moore said. "The ball was getting swung around the top of the key, so I knew I should go to the corner and get ready. My dad before the game told me if I catch it, to shoot it. Josh got me the ball, I caught it and shot. I didn't even see the defender come out at me. Luckily, it went in. It was awesome."
The Roadrunners had a chance for the last shot, but kicked the ball out of bounds and turned it over with 1.2 seconds left. The Waves were unable to do anything on their last possession before overtime.
Kannon Burrage led UTSA with 18 points, though he was the only Roadrunner to reach double-figures.
Pepperdine returns to Southern California to face UCLA on Monday (Nov. 28) at the Sports Arena at 8 p.m. Fans can listen to Al Epstein's broadcast for free via WaveCasts at www.pepperdinesports.com and join an interactive live blog/chat from courtside. The game will also be televised by Prime Ticket.
