Pepperdine University
St. Bonaventure
Waves Fall in Lone Star Showcase Finale to St. Bonaventure
11/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Lamond Murray Jr. connected on a career-high five three-pointers on his way to 24 points, but the short-handed Pepperdine men's basketball team closed out the Lone Star Showcase with an 89-63 loss to St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
Down one starter, the Waves (4-2) won four of their first five games this season, but without two injured starters, Pepperdine couldn't keep up with the Bonnies (3-2). It was particularly problematic in the second half as St. Bonaventure quickly pulled away after going into halftime with just a two-point lead.
Sophomore forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) has yet to play this season due to a fractured jaw, and then the Waves suffered a blow when it was decided moments before game time that senior guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS) would be unable to compete due to an ankle injury sustained in Tuesday night's win over Little Rock.
That likely contributed to a slow start for the Waves, who fell behind 12-2 just 4 1/2 minutes in. St. Bonaventure took a couple of 12-point leads shortly thereafter.
The Waves eventually got things going, however, as back-to-back three-pointers by Murray closed a 10-0 run, cutting the deficit to two at 19-17. Later, Pepperdine took its only lead of the game at 28-27 with 6:38 left in the half after a drive and short-range jumper by senior guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS).
St. Bonaventure eventually went into halftime with a 42-40 advantage.
Without Udenyi, the Waves' best perimeter defender, the Bonnies found an advantage shooting from deep. After making six of 13 three-pointers in the first half, they hit five more in the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Bonnies took another double-digit lead 6 1/2 minutes into the half and the Waves never got it back into single-digits.
For the game, St. Bonaventure made 12 of 24 from deep, many of them coming from beyond the NBA three-point line.
Murray (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) had a 20+ point game for the fifth time in six contests this season, and the senior guard made his five three-pointers on eight attempts. Major had 10 points, as did freshman forward Craig LeCesne (Oxie, Sweden/St. James School).
After shooting 43.3% in the first half, the Waves dropped to 38.2% for the game. St. Bonaventure shot 50.7% and also had advantages in rebounding (38-32) and turnovers (eight to 11). The Bonnies' Matt Mobley made five three-pointers and scored 24 points and Jaylen Adams had four threes and 22 points.
Pepperdine returns home for its next two games, with the first one on Sunday (Nov. 27) against Portland State at 2:30 p.m. It's the second game of a doubleheader with the Pepperdine women. The game will be shown on WaveCasts on TheW.tv with Al Epstein on the call.
