Pepperdine University
Murray State
Men's Hoops Drops GCS Semifinal to Murray State
11/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Pepperdine-Murray State Box Score 
ESTERO, Fla. " A season-high 20 turnovers, including two in the final minute, were too much to overcome as the Pepperdine men's basketball team fell to Murray State, 59-55, in the semifinals of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Tuesday.
Junior guard Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) made two free throws to give the Waves (2-3) a 55-53 lead with 1:43 left, but those would be the team's final points.
Murray State tied the game on the next possession, and then the Waves were hit with an offensive foul. Murray State scored again " the game's 12th and final lead change -- with 54.3 seconds left. Pepperdine missed a three-pointer and got an offensive rebound, but was then called for traveling with 14.6 seconds left. The Waves were forced to foul and the Racers iced the game with two free throws.
Pepperdine will play Drake in the third-place game on Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET.
Senior forward Stacy Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) collected his second double-double in as many days with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Murray added 14 points and seven rebounds.
In addition to the turnovers, the Waves also struggled to make shots, connecting on a season-low 37.0% of their attempts. A day after hitting 10 of 20 three-pointers in an 84-70 win over Duquesne, Pepperdine went just 2-for-12 against the Racers.
Murray State (4-1), which won 29 games last season and advanced to the NIT, shot 43.1% and committed 15 turnovers. The Racers made six of 15 three-pointers. Murray State had a 20-10 edge in points off turnovers (15-4 in the second half).
The game was close throughout. Murray State had its largest lead of seven points early in the first half at 15-8. But the Waves quickly got back into it, and Lamond Murray Jr. scored the final four points of the half to send the Waves into the break with a 28-26 lead.
The Racers' biggest lead of the second half was five at 41-36, but the Waves went on a 12-2 run, with five points apiece by Davis and sophomore guard Shawn Olden (Tulsa, Okla/Union HS). Two free throws by Murray completed the run and gave Pepperdine its biggest lead of the game (five points) at 48-43 with 5:50 to go.
Murray State scored the game's next six points on its next three possessions, however, and it went back and forth until the game's final possessions.
On Wednesday, fans can listen to Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein on WaveCasts at PepperdineSports.com, and the contest will also be live streamed on YouTube.
