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Pepperdine-UCLA Box Score

LOS ANGELES " Lamond Murray Jr. had another strong game with 22 points but the Pepperdine men's basketball team fell at UCLA, 81-67, on Thursday night.

The Waves (1-2) shot just 38.0%, struggling from both the outside (4-for-20 on three-pointers) and down low against the Bruins' sizeable front line. UCLA (2-1) had five players in double-figures and shot 50.0% for the game, and also had a 43-35 rebounding edge.

Murray (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) had his mid-range game going against the Bruins. He followed up a career-high 23-point performance against San Diego Christian on Monday with his second career 20-point game. Fifteen of his 22 points came in the second half.

Freshman forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) continued his impressive early-season play with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"They took advantage of their size, especially at the start, and that was the difference," Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said. "They made some shots and got into a rhythm. I like how we battled, especially in the second half."

The poor start ended up being the difference, as Pepperdine made just two of its first 17 shots. UCLA, which never trailed, took a 10-point lead after just 4 1/2 minutes at 17-7 and maintained that double-digit lead for the rest of the game. The Bruins went ahead 22-7 after seven-plus minutes, 29-11 after 9 1/2 minutes and eventually 48-34 at halftime.

UCLA's largest lead of 20 points came at 66-46 in the second half, but the Waves then picked things up defensively and held the Bruins without a field goal for the next six minutes. An 8-0 run made it 66-54 with 10:08 left. Pepperdine then had four opportunities to get the lead down to nine or 10, but couldn't convert.

The Waves limited UCLA to just 33 points in the second half, and matched the Bruins with 33 points of their own. After a hot start the Bruins eventually shot 35.3% (6-for-17) on three-pointers, and the Waves forced 17 turnovers (10 in the second half).

Senior forward Jett Raines (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS) contributed nine points, senior forward Stacy Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) had eight points and nine rebounds, junior guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) added eight points and senior forward Atif Russell (Katy, Texas/Seven Lakes HS) scored seven off the bench.

Next week (Monday-Wednesday, Nov. 23-25), Pepperdine plays in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. The first game is against Duquesne on Monday at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT. Fans can listen to Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein on WaveCasts at PepperdineSports.com, and games will also be live streamed on YouTube.