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LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Lamond Murray Jr. had a performance for the ages in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament, scoring 41 points -- the second-most by any player ever at the event -- but the Pepperdine men's basketball team had its season come to an end with an 89-84 loss to Pacific on Friday evening.

Pepperdine, which lost three starters and four players to season-ending injuries this year, closed the campaign with a 9-22 record.

Murray (Los Angeles, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS), a senior guard playing in what would be his final game, broke his previous career high of 33 points, bested the Waves' WCC Tournament record of 39 points (Bryan Hill in 1997) and finished second only to the 45-point total by San Francisco's Tim Owens at the 1991 tournament.

Murray's performance highlighted an incredibly close game. There were 19 lead changes and seven ties and neither team took more than a five-point lead until the final two minutes.

The final tie was at 59-59 with nine minutes left after a Murray field goal, but Pacific then scored the next five points. The Waves got within one point on five occasions down the stretch, but every time, the Tigers responded with a basket. At 77-76 with three minutes left, Pacific scored the next six points to go up 83-76 with 1:49 to play. The Waves would get no closer than three from there.

"It was a down year for us, a disappointing year," Pepperdine Coach Marty Wilson said. "You can only focus on the things you can control and all the injuries were disappointing and frustrating. But the great thing about our team throughout the year was they were professional. They came to work every day, even when we had limited bodies. I'm proud of our seniors. Lamond, he can get buckets in a million different ways and I wouldn't want to have to guard him.

"It was a tough game. Pacific did a great job, they were physical and they executed, especially late in the game. I'm proud of how we stayed together and continued to fight."

Murray and fellow seniors Jeremy Major (Pasadena, Calif./Maranatha HS), Jonathan Allen (Nashville, Tenn./Ravenwood HS) and Kevin Hempy (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS/Westmont) all went out with memorable performances.

Major added seven assists to his Pepperdine record total (he finishes with 494) and scored 18 points without committing a turnover in 32 minutes. Hempy, a walk-on who made the team via a tryout at the start of the season, pulled down seven rebounds in a career-high 36 minutes. Allen, a fellow walk-on, had three points, four rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.

Murray came in as the WCC's leading scorer and improved his season average to 21.4 points per game -- the eighth-best mark in program history. His 662 points this season were the sixth-most in a season. He finishes his career with 1,492 points, 13th-most in Pepperdine men's basketball history.

Along with his 41 points, Murray had 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. He made 13 of 26 shots, four of seven three-pointers and 11 of 14 free throws.

He's the first Wave with 40 points in a game since Brandon Armstrong in 2001. It was the sixth 30-point game of Murray's career. The only Pepperdine player with more is William "Bird" Averitt, who was in attendance tonight because he is being inducted into the WCC Hall of Honor on Saturday.

Pacific outshot the Waves 53.3% to 49.2%. Rebounding (34-33 in Pacific's favor) and turnover (7-8 in the Waves' favor) totals were both close.

The first half had 14 lead changes, the biggest lead for either side was five points and both schools shot better than 50%. Murray had 12 straight Pepperdine points during one stretch as he nailed shot after shot. His three-pointer to close the half gave the Waves a 42-41 lead at the break.

Pacific's second-half shooting increased to 55.6%, while the Waves' dipped to 42.4%.

The Tigers had five players score in double-figures, led by Ray Bowles' 26 points, to two for the Waves.

Pepperdine was again without Chris Reyes (heel), the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder, plus fellow expected starters Amadi Udenyi (Achilles tendon), and Kameron Edwards (jaw), as well as Kaijae Yee-Stephens (ankle). The Waves had only eight available scholarship players.