Final Stats

Pepperdine-Santa Clara Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The good news is that the Pepperdine men's basketball team is tied for third place at the halfway point of the West Coast Conference season. But the Waves missed a chance to take sole possession of third after a comeback attempt fell short in a 60-57 loss at Santa Clara on Saturday night.

The Waves (12-8, 5-4) trailed by as many as 14 points and were still down 10 with less than 10 minutes to play. An impressive comeback gave Pepperdine a couple of late chances to tie the game, including a three-point attempt at the buzzer, but those shots were unfortunately off the mark.

Santa Clara (11-10, 5-4) and BYU are the two other teams tied for third place.

Junior forward Stacy Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) led all players with 21 points and nine rebounds, but the Waves shot 39.6% from the field and went 0-for-11 on three-point attempts. Santa Clara shot 43.1% for the game (53.8% in the first half and 32.0% in the second half).

The Broncos led 51-41 with less than 10 minutes left, and 53-45 with less than seven minutes to go. A 6-0 Pepperdine run capped off by a short jumper by sophomore forward Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) made it a two-point game with five minutes left.

Murray again made it a two-point game at 55-53 with 3:18 left after a tip-in, and the Waves got it down to two for a third time at 57-55 when sophomore guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) drove in for a left-handed lay-up with 1:35 to go.

The Waves had their first chance to tie after forcing a Santa Clara turnover, but a jumper at the foul line by junior forward Jett Raines (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS) narrowly missed. The Waves got another stop and got to a loose ball on the floor first, but the referees called for a tie-up before Pepperdine could call timeout. The possession arrow was in the Broncos' favor with 16.5 seconds left.

The Waves fouled with 15.5 seconds left, and Santa Clara's Brandon Clark made two free throws. At the other end, Davis scored in the post to cut the deficit to two again at 59-57 with 6.2 seconds remaining.

Pepperdine caught a break with 4.6 seconds left when Clark missed his first free throw, but he made his second to put the Broncos ahead 60-57. Rather than foul, Santa Clara elected to allow the Waves a last-second shot. Major quickly brought the ball up the right side, but his three-point attempt from the right wing at the buzzer was off the mark.

The Broncos made just one of their final 12 field goal attempts over the final nine-plus minutes, but did make seven of eight free throws during that stretch (and 13 of 14 for the game).

Raines scored 13 points and Murray added 10 for the Waves. Clark and Jared Brownridge each scored 13 for the Broncos.

Pepperdine only led at 1-0 and fell behind by as many as 14 points before going into halftime with a 35-24 deficit. The Broncos made six of their first seven shots and 10 of the first 13.

The Waves will return to Northern California next weekend for their third and fourth road games in a row, and to open the second half of the WCC season. Pepperdine plays at Pacific on Thursday (Jan. 29) at 7 p.m. The game will be shown online on TheW.tv. The Waves will then be at Saint Mary's on Saturday (Jan. 31) at 3 p.m. That contest will be televised locally by Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Fans can also listen to both games via WaveCasts with Al Epstein at PepperdineSports.com.