Pepperdine University
Montana
Men's Hoops Comes Home to Beat Montana, 69-63
11/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MALIBU, Calif. -- Lamond Murray Jr. scored 18 points and Stacy Davis added 16 as the Pepperdine men's basketball team won at home, 69-63, over Montana on Sunday afternoon.
The Grizzlies (2-3) actually outshot the Waves (3-4) 48.0% to 45.6%, but Pepperdine held Montana to a 1-for-16 showing from beyond the three-point arc. Opponents have now made just 22.8% of their long-range attempts this season.
Pepperdine also committed just nine turnovers to Montana's 13, but more importantly, had an 18-4 edge in points off turnovers.
The Waves led for nearly 34 minutes of the contest, while the Grizzlies only ever led by a point or two in the opening minutes.
Murray had 14 points in the first 10 1/2 minutes, including an 8-2 run all by himself to pace the Waves to a 26-20 lead. Sophomore guard Shawn Olden (Tulsa, Okla./Union HS) later scored five straight points to put the Waves ahead 32-24 with 7:42 left in the half.
Pepperdine's only double-digit lead of the game came at 37-27 after a basket by freshman forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) in the final minute of the first half, and the Waves took an eight-point lead at the break at 37-29.
The Grizzlies kept things close throughout the second half and eventually tied the game at 50-50 with a little more than seven minutes to play. But senior forward Jett Raines (Coppell, Texas/Coppell HS) scored on a putback, and Murray then had a steal and a fast-break dunk to put the Waves back up by four with six minutes to go.
It was a three-point game with under four minutes to play, but sophomore forward A.J. John (Santa Rosa, Calif./Carrillo HS) sank two free throws with 3:25 left, and Davis (Laveen, Ariz./Fairfax HS) sank a three-pointer with 2:34 to go to put Pepperdine up by eight at 62-54. Montana got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Davis had team highs of six rebounds and three steals, while junior guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS/St. Thomas More) had a game-high seven assists. Raines contributed 10 points, Edwards had nine and Olden and John both had eight off the bench.
Montana's Martin Breunig had 28 points (on 10-for-12 shooting) and 10 rebounds.
Pepperdine next plays at Cal State Northridge on Saturday (Dec. 5) at 7 p.m. Fans can listen to the game via WaveCasts at PepperdineSports.com with Al Epstein on the call.
