Final Stats

Box Score

STOCKTON, California -- Playing even more short-handed than usual, the Pepperdine men's basketball team came close to picking up a road win, but Pacific pulled away at the end for a 79-74 West Coast Conference victory on Thursday night.

The Waves (5-12, 1-4) were down to seven scholarship players tonight and dressed only nine student-athletes due to injuries. Head coach Marty Wilson wasn't immune to the team's troubles, either, as he missed the last three days of practice due to the flu, though he was on the sidelines for the game.

Pepperdine was able to take a 70-69 lead with 1:20 left, but the Tigers (8-10, 2-3) came back with the next six points while also making six of six free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Senior guard Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) averaged 25.5 points against the Tigers last season and had another big night with 23 points, 17 of which came in the first half. He also had seven rebounds.

With 20 points, senior forward Chris Reyes (La Verne, Calif./Damien HS/Utah) scored in double-figures for the 11th straight game and a team-best 16th time in 17 games. He added seven rebounds and tied a career high with six assists.

With six assists of his own, senior guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) passed Jon Korfas for #2 on the Waves' all-time list. He needs just seven more to tie and eight to pass Mark Wilson's career record of 450 set from 1981-84. Major also had 14 points.

Pepperdine shot a season-high 52.6% to the floor and held the Tigers to 42.9% shooting. But Pacific made more three-pointers (seven to three) and went 24-for-28 from the free throw line. The Waves had 21 assists on 30 field goals and committed only eight turnovers.

The Waves had probably their best start of the season, hitting their first five shots and jumping out to an 11-1 lead after just three minutes.

But Pacific responded immediately with a 14-0 run, and the Waves were playing catch-up the rest of the half. Murray had two straight baskets to make it a one-point game at 22-21, and he scored the final points of the half to make it 43-41 at the break.

Pepperdine shot 60.7% in the first half to Pacific's 53.3%.

Like the first half, the Waves had a good start to the second half. Pepperdine began the half on a 10-3 run and a basket by Murray gave the visitors a 51-46 lead with 16 1/2 minutes to play. The lead grew to six at 57-51 after a free throw by freshman forward Nolan Taylor (Keller, Texas/Keller HS) with 14:12 to go.

A 9-0 run put Pacific back in front at 60-57, though a couple more lead changes would occur in the next few minutes, including a three-pointer by freshman forward Craig LeCesne (Oxie, Sweden/St. James School) that made it 64-62 in the Waves' favor with 7:51 to play.

But that would be Pepperdine's last field goal for the next six-plus minutes, though free throws would keep the game close. Major drove to the basket and flipped the ball in to beat the shot clock, giving the Waves their final lead at 70-69 with 1:29 left.

Pacific's Jack Williams sank a three-pointer on the next possession, and after the Waves failed to score, the Tigers made one of two free throws with 47.5 seconds left, making it 73-70. After another defensive stop, Pacific made two free throws with 29 seconds left, raising the lead to five points at 75-70.

The Waves scored a couple of baskets down the stretch, but the Tigers answered with two free throws immediately after both times.

In the second half, the Waves outshot the Tigers 44.8% to 30.8%, but Pacific went 17-for-19 from the free throw line after halftime.

T.J. Wallace led all players with 25 points and 10 assists, and he was one of four Tigers to score in double-figures.

The Waves have already been missing senior point guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS), sophomore forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) and freshman guard Kaijae Yee-Stephens (Santa Cruz, Calif./Santa Cruz HS) due to injury. Joining them on the unavailable list for tonight's game were sophomore center Nate Gehring (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee HS) and freshman guard Knox Hellums (Tomball, Texas/Concordia Lutheran HS).

On Saturday (Jan. 14), the Waves return home for a game against Santa Clara at 5 p.m. that will be the WCC Game of the Week, shown locally on Spectrum SportsNet. It was also have an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein on the call at PepperdineWaves.com.