CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Pepperdine men's basketball team nearly picked up an elusive road win, but Southern Utah made plays at the end of regulation and in overtime to post a 78-69 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Waves (6-5) rallied from a 12-point deficit and
Colbey Ross hit a jumper with 7.2 seconds left in regulation to put Pepperdine up 64-62, but Southern Utah's Cameron Oluyitan went coast-to-coast to tie the game with 1.1 seconds left and send it to overtime.
Pepperdine broke out to a 68-64 lead midway through the OT period, but Southern Utah (5-3) outscored the Waves 14-1 the rest of the way.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) scored 24 points, his sixth time this season scoring 20 or more points. He also had seven assists.
- Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) collected his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- Freshman forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had eight points and seven rebounds.
- Freshman guard Darryl Polk Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) tied a Pepperdine freshman record with five steals.
KEY STATS
- The Waves shot 37.9% overall (and 1-for-8 in overtime), while the Thunderbirds were at 41.3% for the game.
- SUU made 12 three-pointers to the Waves' nine.
- Neither team helped itself much at the free throw line, with the Waves at 10-for-21 (47.6%) and the Thunderbirds at 14-for-26 (53.8%), though SUU was 6-for-14 in regulation and 8-for-12 in overtime.
- Turnovers were close (the Waves forced 18 and committed 16) but Pepperdine had a 26-13 edge in points off turnovers.
- Southern Utah got 17 points from Brandon Better and 15 from Oluyitan.
PLAY BY PLAY
Early in the first half, Southern Utah hit four three-pointers in a three-minute span, and a 16-4 run put the Thunderbirds in front by 10 at 19-9 less than eight minutes in. The Waves closed the gap to five points a couple of times, but SUU would take its biggest lead of 12 at 33-21 before going into halftime with a 36-30 lead. Ross scored 10 of the Waves' last 12 points of the half.
The Thunderbirds led 51-40 in the second half when the Waves went on a 8-0 run thanks to a Ross three-pointer, a dunk by freshman guard/forward
Andre Ball (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS) and a three-pointer by Edwards, making it 51-48 with less than 10 minutes to play.
Pepperdine took its first lead since 5-3 when Edwards hit another three-pointer, making it 56-54 with six minutes left. The Waves had a four-point lead at 62-58 before the Thunderbirds scored twice, setting up the end of regulation with the baskets by Ross and Oluyitan.
The Waves scored the first four points of overtime, and a three-pointer by Ball made it 68-64 with 2:24 left. But the Waves would only get one free throw the rest of the way, and Southern Utah capitalized on two big possessions.
The Thunderbirds scored three points with 2:15 left after a made free throw, a missed free throw and a putback. The next time down, Southern Utah scored five points on a three-point play, followed by a foul on Pepperdine on the free throw line, which led to two more free throws. That made it 72-68 with a minute and half left, and the Waves wouldn't have another comeback in them.
NOTABLES
- Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS), last season's top scorer, missed his seventh game in a row and his eighth of the season due to injury.
- Southern Utah captured both ends of this two-year, home-and-home series.
- The Waves have lost each of their last four overtime contests.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine's road trip continues at Oregon State on Monday (Dec. 15) at 7 p.m. Al Epstein will have the call via WaveCasts at PepperdineWaves.com and it will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
