Pepperdine University
2-3
Oral Roberts
1-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Roberts | 40 | 36 | 76 |
| Pepperdine | 33 | 47 | 80 |
Ross Rallies Waves to Win Over Oral Roberts
11/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MALIBU, California " Freshman Colbey Ross scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to lead the Pepperdine men's basketball back from a 15-point deficit and to an 80-76 win over Oral Roberts in a Progressive Legends Classic subregional game on Tuesday night in Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine improved to 2-3 overall.
In the night's first game, UC Santa Barbara defeated Montana, 80-73, for the subregional championship.
Ross earned a spot on the subregional's all-tournament team. Max Heidegger of UCSB was the MVP, and the team's other members were Leland King II (UCSB), Ahmaad Rorie (Montana) and Emmanuel Nzekwesi (Oral Roberts).
 | BIG WAVES |
- Freshman guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) followed up his career-high 25-point performance on Monday night with 21 more on Tuesday. He made seven of 10 shots, two three-pointers, was 5-for-6 from the free throw line and also had team highs of six assists and two steals.
- Sophomore forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) contributed 14 points but battled foul trouble and played only 17 minutes before fouling out late.
- Freshman guard Trae Berhow (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
- Junior forward Darnell Dunn (Kinston, N.C./Kinston HS/Miami Dade HS) contributed nine points and five rebounds.
| KEY STATS |
- The Waves shot 61.5% in the second half and 52.9% for the game, while Oral Roberts was at an even 50.0%.
- Pepperdine made nearly as many three-pointers as ORU (seven to eight) and committed one fewer turnover (13 to 14). The Waves enjoyed a 32-27 rebounding edge.
- Oral Roberts had all five starters score in double-figures, led by Nzekewsi with 17.
| PLAY BY PLAY |
The Waves led by four points early, but Oral Roberts took a nine-point lead at 29-20 and went into the halftime break with a 40-33 edge.
The lead quickly grew to 15 at 52-37 with 16:49 to play. Compounding the Waves' issues, Edwards picked up his fourth foul at 17:03, and Berhow recorded his fourth foul at 14:26. The two were Pepperdine's leading scorers at the time.
Down 11 at 55-44, Ross began the comeback with a jumper and a three-pointer to make it a six-point game. Later, after four points by Dunn, Ross hit another three-pointer to pull the Waves within two at 58-56 with 9:56 to go.
Ross tied it with a pair of free throws with 7:30 left, then gave the Waves their first lead of the second half at 64-62 on the next possession with a short jumper. Oral Roberts went back in front 66-64, but Knox Hellums responded with a three-pointer with 5:45 to play, and Oral Roberts wouldn't lead again.
Tied at 70, Ross assisted on a Nolan Taylor lay-up with 4:05 left, then hit a jumper to make it a four-point contest with 2:51 left. After an ORU bucket, Taylor pushed the lead back up to four at 76-72 with 1:50 to go. After a defensive stop, a Ross free throw gave the Waves their largest lead of the night at 77-72 with 1:09 to play.
Oral Roberts tightened things up, making it 78-76 in the final seconds, but Jade' Smith iced the victory with two free throws with six seconds left.
| QUOTABLES |
Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said: "We challenged them at halftime. Our energy wasn't great at the start and we were standing around against their zone. We weren't executing, and there was no real flow to our offense in the first half. We got after them in the locker room and they really responded.
"Colbey Ross stepped up and made some big plays on both ends of the court. He played like a senior. With Kam and Trae in foul trouble, we had numerous guys step up. I'm proud of the guys' response to the challenge at halftime."
| HIGHLIGHTS |
| NOTABLES |
- The Waves have yet to get expected starter Eric Cooper Jr. (shoulder) into the lineup this season. He remains game to game with his injury.
- This was only the third-ever meeting between Pepperdine and Oral Roberts. The Waves won the previous two in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
| UP NEXT |
The Waves finish their participation in the Progressive Legends Classic with a road game this Friday at #16 Texas A&M. The game is at 6 p.m. PT (8 p.m. CT). It will be shown on the SEC Network, and there will be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein.
