Pepperdine University
Fresno State
Men's Hoops Drops Opener at Fresno State
11/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. " The Pepperdine men's basketball team was unable to hold onto a late lead and fell in its season opener, 69-66, at Fresno State on Friday night.
The Waves (0-1) were ahead 61-53 after a free throw by junior guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) with 4:26 left, but the Bulldogs (1-0) then went on a 12-0 run over nearly three minutes, fueled by turnovers and free throws.
Major, who recorded his second career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, hit a desperation three-pointer with 10.2 seconds left to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 67-66.
Things looked good when the Bulldogs missed their first free throw with 9.5 seconds left, but after Fresno State made the second, the Waves turned the ball over on the inbounds play. Fresno State hit one more free throw to make it a three-point game with 8.9 seconds left. But before Pepperdine could get up a potential game-tying three-pointer, the Waves turned it over for the 18th and final time.
Senior forward Stacy Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) added 15 points while junior guard Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) had 10. Junior guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS/St. Thomas More) had nine points and five assists, and freshman forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) contributed nine points and four rebounds in his debut.
The Waves hit 38.5% of their shots, while the Bulldogs were at 39.7% (but 48.3% in the second half). Fresno State committed just 12 turnovers, made 15 steals, and had a 17-6 edge in points off turnovers.
The game had a total of 51 fouls and 64 free throws. The Waves went 22-for-34, while the Bulldogs were 17-for-30.
The Waves had an early 9-2 lead to start the game, and ended the first half on a 9-0 run to go into halftime with a 38-30 lead. The Bulldogs took a couple of one-point leads midway through the second half before Pepperdine re-grew its lead to eight on three occasions.
Pepperdine has its home opener on Monday (Nov. 16) against San Diego Christian in Firestone Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game online via WaveCasts on TheW.tv.
