Pepperdine University
3-9
Weber State
6-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperdine | 27 | 40 | 67 |
| Weber State | 43 | 29 | 72 |
Waves' Impressive Comeback Falls Short at Weber State
12/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
OGDEN, Utah " A tremendous second-half comeback got the Pepperdine men's basketball team back into the game, but the Waves dropped their non-conference finale to Weber State, 72-67, at the Dee Events Center on Tuesday night.
The Waves (3-9) trailed by 19 points late in the first half and by 16 at halftime, but a 24-6 run over the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second half put them ahead for the first time. The Wildcats (6-5) held off Pepperdine down the stretch, however, to remain unbeaten at home this season.
 | BIG WAVES |
- Freshman guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) had 11 points (nine in the second half), seven assists and five rebounds.
- Senior center Matthew Atewe (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Washington), who started the first seven games of the season, then missed the last four with a back injury, was back on the floor tonight. He had 11 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes.
| KEY STATS |
- Pepperdine shot 40.0% in the first half and 46.9% in the second half to finish at 43.5% overall.
- The Waves' defense improved tremendously in the second half, as the Wildcats were at 62.1% shooting in the first half, then 39.1% in the second, for 51.9% overall.
- The Waves hit three of their five three-pointers in the second half. The Wildcats made seven of their eight three-pointers in the first half.
- Pepperdine had a 37-26 advantage on the boards, and 15 offensive rebounds helped create a 17-5 edge in second-chance points.
- Weber State had three players score in double-figures led by Jerrick Harding's 26 points.
| PLAY BY PLAY |
Weber State jumped out to a 10-2 lead after just three minutes, and it was 22-8 after eight minutes. Knox Hellums had five points in a 7-0 run that cut the deficit to 22-15 at the midway point of the half, but Weber State increased its lead back into double-digits, and kept it there for the final eight minutes of the first half. The lead grew to 19 points at 41-22 before the Wildcats took a 43-27 lead at the break.
The Waves came out a different team in the second half. They scored the first nine points, five of them by Harrison Meads, and kept the Wildcats scoreless for the first three-plus minutes. Eric Cooper Jr. hit a three-pointer and then made a traditional three-point play to cut the deficit to 45-42.
The Waves tied the game at 47 on a putback by Atewe, and an Atewe dunk off an Amadi Udenyi assist gave Pepperdine its first lead at 51-49 with 12 1/2 minutes left.
Pepperdine's only other lead came at 54-53 off a Trae Berhow three-pointer with under 10 minutes to play. But the Waves then went scoreless for more than three minutes, and Weber State rebuilt its lead up to five points at 59-54 with under seven minutes to go.
It was an eight-point game at 68-60 with under three minutes left, but the Waves had one more push in them. Jade' Smith had a couple of late baskets, including one after a steal that made it 70-67 with a minute left.
Pepperdine got a defensive stop, but couldn't convert on the offensive end, and the Wildcats put the game out of reach with two free throws with 9.9 seconds left.
| NOTABLES |
- With three assists, Amadi Udenyi moved to a tie for seventh place on the Waves' all-time assist list with 365.
- Kameron Edwards, the Waves' leading scorer and rebounder, missed his third straight game due to a concussion.
- The Waves' total number of player-games missed due to injury is up to 30 this season. Pepperdine hasn't had its expected starting lineup available for a single game this season, and the Waves have been without two starters in six of the 12 games.
- Pepperdine fell to 0-4 all-time in Ogden.
| UP NEXT |
After the Christmas break, the Waves open up West Coast Conference play a week from Thursday (Dec. 28) at Santa Clara at 7 p.m. The game will be shown online by TheW.tv and there will be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein on the call.
