Final Stats

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, California -- Turnovers and three-pointers were the difference as the short-handed Pepperdine men's basketball team dropped its West Coast Conference opener at Santa Clara, 72-65, on Thursday night.

The Waves (3-10, 0-1 WCC), down two injured starters, shot 52.1% from the field but committed 16 turnovers while the Broncos (4-9, 1-0) had only eight. Santa Clara made 11 three-pointers to Pepperdine's four.

The game had nine ties and seven lead changes and it stayed in single-digits the entire time.

BIG WAVES

• Freshman guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) scored a game-high 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and he also had three assists and two steals.
• Freshman guard Trae Berhow (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) matched his season high with 15 points and he also had seven rebounds and two steals.
• Freshman guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) contributed seven points, a season-high five assists and four rebounds.
• Senior center Matthew Atewe (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/Washington) blocked a career-high five shots and had seven rebounds.

KEY STATS

• Pepperdine outshot Santa Clara 52.1% to 39.7% overall.
• The Broncos went 11-for-28 from distance, while the Waves were at 4-for-12.
• Free throws also played a difference, with Santa Clara making 15-for-17 (88.2%). and Pepperdine at just 11-for-19 (57.9%).
• In addition to the negative-eight turnover margin, the Waves were outscored 18-6 in points off turnovers.
• Pepperdine enjoyed a 35-25 rebounding edge.
• Santa Clara had three players score in double-figures, led by Matt Hauser's 19 points.

PLAY BY PLAY

The Waves got off to a terrific start, as Berhow had nine points in the first five minutes and Pepperdine made eight of its first 10 shots to take a 19-11 lead with 11 1/2 minutes to go. But at 21-14, the Broncos scored the next seven points to tie the game, and they took their first lead at 24-22 before eventually going into halftime with a 29-27 lead. The Waves made three of their final 12 shots in the half.

The Waves also had a good start to the second half. Berhow had a four-point play, and back-to-back baskets by Eric Cooper Jr. put the Waves in front 35-34. Ross had seven consecutive points as the Waves went from two points down to up 45-40 with 14 minutes left.

With the Waves up 51-48, Santa Clara scored the next seven points to go ahead 55-51 with eight minutes to go, and that was the final lead change. The Waves tied the game at 55 after a Berhow jumper and an Atewe putback with under seven to play. It was a one-point Santa Clara lead at 60-59 with 3 1/2 minutes left after a Smith putback, but that would be the Waves' final field goal until 18 seconds remained.

The Waves tried to foul for profit down the stretch, but the Broncos went 8-for-8 from the line in the final 30 seconds.

NOTABLES

• Two starters were out tonight. Kameron Edwards, the Waves' leading scorer and rebounder, missed his fourth straight game due to a concussion. Amadi Udenyi (ankle) missed his third game of the season.
• The Waves' total number of player-games missed due to injury is up to 33 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 seven of the 13 games.
• The Waves lost in the Leavey Center for the fourth straight season.

UP NEXT

Pepperdine continues the first weekend of conference play at San Diego on Saturday (Dec. 30) at 1 p.m. in the WCC Game of the Week. It will be televised in Southern California on Spectrum SportsNet. There will also be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein on the call.