Pepperdine University
Portland State
Men's Hoops Drops Home Game to Portland State
11/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MALIBU, California -- Turnovers again plagued the Pepperdine men's basketball team as Portland State came into Firestone Fieldhouse and went home with a 91-85 non-conference victory on Sunday afternoon.
The Waves (4-3) matched their season high of 20 turnovers while forcing only nine, allowing the Vikings (2-3) to take a 29-11 advantage in points off turnovers. Though Pepperdine shot 51.6% from the field, Portland State was also a bit better there at 53.0%.
Senior forward Chris Reyes (La Verne, Calif./Damien HS/Utah) posted his third double-double in the last five games and scored a career-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds. After not scoring more than six points in any of the first six games, freshman guard Knox Hellums (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS) exploded for 19 points while making five three-pointers on seven attempts.
Senior guard Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) had 19 points and eight rebounds and senior guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) contributed 17 points and five assists.
Those four players scored all but six of the Waves' 85 points, while the Vikings found more balance with six of their eight players scoring in double-figures.
The Waves got off to a terrific start, making their first four shots en route to a 9-2 lead. Pepperdine matched its largest lead of seven points at 22-15 near the midway point of the first half after a Major three-pointer.
But Portland State tied the game at 25, took its first lead at 36-35 and went into halftime with a 44-39 advantage. Twelve first-half turnovers by the Waves led to 14 Viking points off turnovers.
The Waves closed to within two points multiple times in the second half, the last one coming at 62-60 with 11:35 to play after a basket by Hellums. The Waves had two chances to tie or take the lead but missed one shot and turned the ball over the next time down. Portland State then scored the next six points and soon after took its first double-digit lead at 72-62 with 8:25 to play.
A Hellums three-pointer later closed the gap to four points at 78-74 with under three minutes to go. Pepperdine got a stop, but turned the ball over again, and the Vikings scored the next four points to push the lead back up to eight. The Waves got it back to four points in the final minute at 87-83 after a Murray three-pointer, but no closer.
In the second half, Portland State shot 55.2% to the Waves' 45.5% and the points off turnovers edge was 15-7.
Pepperdine made a season-high 11 three-pointers on 23 attempts (47.8%).
Senior guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS) was back in the lineup after missing the last game with an ankle injury, but he left the Portland State contest midway through the first half and did not return. Udenyi had five assists in eight minutes and the Waves were leading 22-17 at his departure.
Pepperdine next plays its final non-conference home game on Saturday (Dec. 3) against Belmont at 5 p.m. The game will be shown on WaveCasts on TheW.tv with Al Epstein on the call.
