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Pepperdine-Gonzaga Box Score

MALIBU, Calif. - Jett Raines scored a career-high 22 points and Stacy Davis had 21 in front of a standing-room-only Firestone Fieldhouse crowd and the Pepperdine men's basketball team gave #3 Gonzaga all it could handle before the Waves came up just short, 78-76, in West Coast Conference play on Thursday night.

The evening got off to an uncommon start when an accident on the Pacific Coast Highway created lengthy traffic delays, which included Gonzaga's team bus. The Bulldogs arrived about 30 minutes before the scheduled tipoff, so the game was pushed back a half-hour later in order to give Gonzaga a full opportunity to warm up.

All that time on the bus didn't affect Gonzaga early as the Bulldogs (17-1, 6-0) shot 70% from the field in the first half, went up by as many as 15 points and took a 40-31 lead at the break.

But the Waves (11-6, 4-2) nearly pulled off the upset with a big second half. They scored 45 points (the second-most in any half this season), shot 63% and closed within one point on five occasions.

Raines had eight points during an 11-0 run near the start of the second half as the Waves went from 12 points down to a 43-42 deficit with under 16 minutes to play. Unfortunately, all five times that Pepperdine got within one point, Gonzaga scored on the very next possession. Still, the Waves wouldn't let Gonzaga pull away.

With 7.1 seconds left, Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) made a three-point play to cut the Gonzaga lead to 77-75. The Bulldogs gave Pepperdine a chance by making just one of two free throws with six seconds to go. Davis grabbed the rebound on the second and got it into the hands of sophomore guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS). He pushed the ball up the court but Gonzaga chose to foul with 1.9 seconds left, rather than let the Waves attempt a potential game-tying three-pointer.

Major made the first free throw and purposefully missed the second, but the Waves couldn't get the rebound.

"We settled down in the second half and played for each other, shared the ball, moved the ball, made aggressive plays and made some shots. But we didn't defend enough, and that's something we hang our hat on," Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said. "I thought the crowd was unbelievable. Normally I don't pay attention to the crowd but I got excited about it. They made a big difference for us. We need them like that on Saturday and the rest of the season."

Raines (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS) made 10 of 14 shots and had six rebounds. Davis went 9-for-11 from the foul line and added a team-high seven rebounds.

Sophomore guard Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) scored 12 points and freshman guard Shawn Olden (Tulsa, Okla./Union HS) added 11. Major had a season-high nine assists to go with eight points. Pepperdine shot 50.9% for the game (63.0% in the second half).

Gonzaga finished at 56.9% shooting for the contest compared to 50.9% for the Waves. But the Bulldogs, who came in making 73.2% of their free throws, went just 14-for-33 (42.4%) for the game. That helped offset Gonzaga's many other advantages, which included rebounding (34-29), second-chance points (18-2) and points off turnovers (15-7).

Kyle Wiltjer scored a game-high 24 points for Gonzaga and Domantas Sabonis went 9-for-9 from the field en route to an 18-point, 12-rebound game.

This was the fifth time that a top-three-ranked team had played in Firestone Fieldhouse.

Pepperdine is home again against Portland on Saturday (Jan. 17) at 5 p.m. The game will be shown locally on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Fans can also listen to the game via WaveCasts with Al Epstein at PepperdineSports.com.