Pepperdine University
Washington State
Men's Basketball Falls to Washington State, 67-56
12/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2011
SEATTLE, Wash. - A cold-shooting first half proved to be too much to overcome for the Pepperdine men's basketball team as the Waves fell to Washington State, 67-56, in the Cougar Hardwood Classic at KeyArena on Thursday night.
Pepperdine (6-5) fell behind 26-15 at halftime, but despite improving to 41 points in the second half, the Waves couldn't end up putting a dent in Washington State's lead in the end. The Cougars (8-4) won their sixth straight game and improved to 7-0 all-time in their annual event in Seattle.
Senior center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) and senior forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) both posted double-doubles for the Waves. Moore had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Darby added 13 points and 10 boards. It was Moore's third double-double of the season and his career, while Darby had his second consecutive double-double, his third of the season and the eighth of his career.
Junior guard Joshua Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) scored 12 points and had three steals, while junior guard Caleb Willis (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge HS) handed out six assists.
Both teams started out incredibly cold. The Cougars missed their first eight shots, the Waves missed their first six attempts, there was no score at the first media timeout and the first basket came at the 15-minute mark.
After WSU opened the scoring with a three-pointer, Moore sank a three to tie the game on the next possession, and the Waves took their only lead of the contest at 5-3 on a lay-up by Darby. Washington State then went on an 18-2 run to go ahead 21-7 with less than six minutes to play in the half.
The Cougars led by 11 at halftime. Through the Waves held WSU to 34.6% shooting in the first half, Pepperdine shot only 23.1% itself.
The Waves doubled their shooting percentage in the second half to 45.5%, but despite scoring 41 points they also allowed 41 points. The Cougars maintained a double-digit lead for almost the entire second half, including a 23-point lead at 50-27 with 11 minutes to go.
The Waves didn't quit however, getting the score back to single-digits toward the end of the game. Lowery sank a three-pointer, made a steal and then connected on two free throws to cut the deficit to 65-56 with 21 seconds left.
Pepperdine finished at 35.6% shooting, while Washington State was at 40.4%. Though turnovers were almost even (the Waves committed 11, the Cougars made 10), WSU was highly efficient on them, taking a 22-11 edge in points off turnovers.
The Cougars' Faisal Aden led all scorers with 17 points, including 13 in the first half.
Pepperdine takes the next few days off for Christmas, then begins West Coast Conference play at home next weekend against San Francisco and Saint Mary's. The Waves play the Dons on Thursday (Dec. 29) at 7 p.m., and the Gaels on New Year's Eve (Saturday, Dec. 31) at 3 p.m. Fans can watch both games via WaveCasts at www.pepperdinesports.com.
The Waves will go into WCC play with a winning record for the first time since 2004-05.
