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MALIBU, California " Chris Reyes dominated in the final minute, including the game-winning put-back with 1.5 seconds left, to lift the Pepperdine men's basketball team to a 71-70 victory over Loyola Marymount in another classic installment of the Wells Fargo PCH Cup rivalry on Thursday night.

The short-handed Waves (5-10, 1-2) picked up their first West Coast Conference win. It was the 99th victory over the Lions (7-7, 0-3) in the 165th meeting, and it was Pepperdine's 18th victory in Firestone Fieldhouse over LMU in the last 19 years.

The game featured 15 lead changes and 11 ties and the biggest lead of the game for either side was seven.

Reyes (La Verne, Calif./Damien HS/Utah) led all scorers with 21 points, including three baskets in the final minute, each of which allowed the Waves to recapture the advantage. The senior forward also had eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

LMU opened its biggest lead of the game at 58-51 with 7:54 to play, but Pepperdine came back to take leads of 60-59 and 62-61. LMU then went ahead 66-64 with 1:28 left.

Reyes drove to the basket and converted a three-point play with 59.9 seconds left, giving the Waves a 67-66 advantage. After two free throws put the Lions back in front, Reyes scored in the paint again with 32.8 seconds left, making it 69-68. LMU's Peter Herman scored on a lay-up with 18.9 seconds left, giving the Lions the lead for the final time.

The Waves missed their first shot attempt with about five seconds left, but Reyes got the offensive rebound and scored with 1.5 seconds to go, making it 71-70. After a timeout, the Lions advanced the ball to halfcourt and called another timeout with 1.1 seconds left. They got the ball inbounds to Erik Johansson, but his deep three-point attempt was off the mark.

"The first thing I told the team was how proud we are of them," Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said. "Particularly the way we competed on the defensive end. We got stops and we got offensive rebounds against bigger players. The other major thing is that we executed. We ran our plays, got great shots and scored.

"Chris was like a bull down low. Those last few offensive possessions, he was not going to be denied."

Senior guard Lamond Murray Jr. (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) added 19 points and senior guard Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS) scored 11. Freshman guard Elijah Lee (Houston, Texas/HCYA Warriors) made his first career start and had a season-high five assists.

The Waves outshot the Lions 51.9% to 43.3%. LMU stayed close due to turnovers (12 to six) and free throws (15-for-21 to 10-for-15).

Pepperdine led 30-28 at halftime and the team's largest lead of the game was five points when Major opened up the second half with a three-pointer. The Lions took the lead back at 36-36 with 17 minutes to go, and held the lead for much of the next 13 minutes.

LMU had four players in double-figures, led by Buay Tuach's 18 points.

Pepperdine was again without two expected starters. The Waves won for the first time since losing senior point guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS) for the season to a torn Achilles tendon on November 27. Sophomore forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) has also not returned since suffering a fractured jaw in the preseason.

The Waves are home again on Saturday (January 7), hosting San Diego at 1 p.m in the WCC Game of the Week. Fans can listen via WaveCasts at PepperdineWaves.com with Al Epstein. It will be televised locally by Spectrum SportsNet.