Pepperdine University
Portland
Men's Basketball Falls at Portland
1/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2012
PORTLAND, Ore. - A tremendous defensive effort went for naught as the Pepperdine men's basketball team suffered a 53-43 loss at Portland on Saturday night in West Coast Conference play.
The Waves (7-8, 1-3) held the Pilots (5-11, 2-1) scoreless for nearly six minutes in the second half and cut a 17-point deficit down to eight, but offensive struggles of their own down the stretch sent the Waves to defeat.
Senior forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS) had 14 points and eight rebounds, freshman guard Jordan Baker (Tempe, Ariz./Tempe HS) had 10 of his 12 points in the second half along with three steals and senior center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) pulled down 12 rebounds.
Portland went up 42-25 with 11:20 to play and still had a 12-point lead at 47-35 when Kevin Bailey scored with 8:23 to go. Junior guard Joshua Lowery (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) sank a jumper on the Waves' next possession to make it a 10-point game, and then a lid went on both teams' baskets.
The Pilots wouldn't score again until 2:40 remained on the clock, as the Waves forced nine missed shots and one turnover during the span.
But the Waves had similar offensive issues. Baker hit two free throws with 5:56 to pull Pepperdine within eight at 47-38. The Waves had six field-goal attempts with a chance to cut into the deficit further, but missed them all, and also committed two turnovers.
David Carr ended the dry spell with a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Pilots a double-digit lead again at 50-39 with 2:40 to play. The Waves suffered another four misses until Moore got an offensive rebound and hit a jump shot with 1:20 to play. It had been almost seven minutes since their last field goal. Pepperdine got within seven points in the final minute before Portland scored the final three points of the game from the free throw line.
Portland shot 37.5% from the field, while Pepperdine was at 31.5%. The Pilots, who were one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams in the country last year, entered the game making 30.1% of their threes. But tonight, Portland went 7-for-12 (58.3%), while Pepperdine was held without a three-pointer for the second time in three games after an 0-for-14 performance.
Pepperdine had a couple of four-point leads in the first half, but the Pilots outscored the Waves 20-7 over the half's final 10 minutes to take a 29-19 lead at halftime.
Bailey had a game-high 15 points for the Pilots and Ryan Nicholas added 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Waves return home and host rival Loyola Marymount in a Wells Fargo PCH Cup matchup next Thursday (Jan. 12) at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU. Fans can also listen to Al Epstein's broadcast at www.pepperdinesports.com.
