Final Stats

Pepperdine-BYU Box Score

PROVO, Utah - A hot start and a tremendous defensive performance held down the nation's highest-scoring team as the Pepperdine men's basketball team shocked BYU, 67-61, on the road on Thursday night in West Coast Conference play.

Junior forward Stacy Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) came off the bench for the first time this season and had team highs of 23 points and eight rebounds. The Waves (10-5, 3-1) never trailed, led by as many as 14 in the first half and held on despite a late rally by the Cougars (13-5, 3-2).

BYU came into the game averaging 88.3 points per game but Pepperdine held the Cougars 27 below their average. The Waves led 39-29 at the break (the 29 points were the fewest in any half this season by BYU).

Sophomore guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) scored 14 points and junior forward Jett Raines (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS) added 10.

"We talked about our discipline and our toughness and we showed that from the tip," Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said. "We shot the ball well to give ourselves confidence, and then we stuck to the game plan. Defensively, we didn't allow them fast-break points or easy three-point shots. Our guys executed well."

Major hit two three-pointers to open the game. Leading 10-5, the Waves hit five straight shots (three by Davis immediately after coming off the bench) to make it 22-13 less than seven minutes in. Pepperdine took its biggest lead at 34-20 after two free throws by Major with six minutes left, and the Waves went into the break with a 10-point lead.

The Waves kept the lead around the 10-point margin for a while in the second half before some adversity hit. Major picked up his fourth foul with 10:27 left in the game, and then fellow sophomore point guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS/St. Thomas More) limped off the court with an injury with 8:43 remaining and did not return. That happened during a 10-2 BYU run that reduced the lead to 54-51 with a little more than five minutes to play.

The Waves got a fast-break dunk by Raines with 4:46 to play. BYU scored, but Davis came back with a jumper to make it 58-53 with under four minutes to go. But, four straight free throws by the Cougars made it a one-point game with 3:01 left.

BYU missed on a chance to take its first lead of the game, and Raines hit two free throws at the other end to push the lead back to 60-57 with 2:26 left. Two more BYU free throws made it a one-point game again at 60-59 with 2:03 to go, and the Waves got another stop when the Cougars could have taken the lead.

Davis made two free throws with 40.3 seconds left to make it 62-59. BYU missed on what could have been a game-tying three-pointer, and Major then made two free throws with 22.5 seconds left.

After another BYU miss, the Waves got possession after a tie-up. A long pass to Major resulted in a lay-up and a 66-59 lead with 11 seconds left. BYU got an uncontested lay-up with four seconds left (the Cougars' first field goal in more than four minutes), and Davis closed out the scoring with one free throw.

The Waves held the Cougars to 38.1% shooting for the game. The Waves came in ranked second nationally in three-point field-goal percentage defense, while BYU ranked 11th nationally with 9.2 three-pointers per game. The Cougars were held to a 6-for-26 showing (23.1%), including 1-for-12 in the second half. BYU was also the nation's most prolific free throw shooting team, but didn't have a single attempt in the first half and finished 7-for-8. Tyler Haws led all scorers with 26 points.

Pepperdine has led at halftime in four of the last five meetings with BYU, but this is only the Waves' second win over the Cougars since BYU joined the conference. Pepperdine won at home last season. The Waves ended a five-game losing streak in Provo (they won in their first visit there in 1985-86).

Pepperdine next visits San Diego on Saturday (Jan. 10) at 3 p.m. That game will be televised locally on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Fans can also listen to the game via WaveCasts with Al Epstein at PepperdineSports.com.