LONG BEACH, California – The Pepperdine men's basketball team had a shot at the buzzer to win a road game at Long Beach State, but it was unfortunately off the mark and the Waves fell 67-66 at the Beach on Thursday night.
 
In a game that saw 16 lead changes and 14 ties, Colbey Ross put the Waves up by one with 20 seconds left after two free throws. LBSU's KJ Byers dunked with 4.3 seconds left, putting LBSU (4-9) back up by one. The Waves (6-7) rushed the ball up the court and Jade' Smith had a good look with a three from straightaway, but it didn't fall.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) scored a game-high 23 points, his seventh time this season with 20 or more points. He also had five assists and four rebounds.
• Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) scored 13 points and made three three-pointers.
• Senior forward Darnell Dunn (Kinston, N.C./Kinston HS/Miami Dade JC) had his first double-double of the season and the second of his Pepperdine career with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) scored seven points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds (the second time in three games he's had double-digit rebounds).

KEY STATS

• The Waves were outshot 39.1% to 37.9%.
• Pepperdine battled a much bigger Beach squad to a near standstill on the boards, as it was 46-44 in LBSU's favor. The Waves had a 17-13 edge in second-chance points.
• The Waves held the Beach to 2-for-19 shooting on three-pointers (10.5%) but went 6-for-27 (22.2%) themselves.
• LBSU got to the free throw line more often, going 15-for-25 to the Waves' 10-for-17.
• Long Beach State often went to Temidayo Yussuf in the post, and he finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. He was one of four players to score in double-figures.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
It was a low-scoring game early, but after a Cooper Jr. three-point play and a coast-to-coast rebound and lay-up by Smith, Pepperdine went ahead 17-9 a little more than nine minutes in. But at 19-11, the Waves went scoreless for four minutes and the Beach scored 10 straight points to go in front 21-19. The Waves' last lead of the half came at 23-21 after a Cooper Jr. three-pointer, though the teams went into the break tied at 31-31.
 
The second half alone had 10 lead changes. Long Beach State's four-point lead at 49-45 was its largest of the game. The Waves led by no more than three points in the second half.
 
Down by four at 49-45, the Waves went on an 11-4 run, the last five points by Smith, to go ahead 56-53 with seven minutes to go. The lead went back and forth, but Pepperdine went up by three at 64-61 with under a minute to play on a jumper by Ross. But LBSU came right back with a basket, and then turned a Pepperdine turnover into another score with 30 seconds left, giving the Beach a 65-64 lead, setting up the final sequence.
 
NOTABLES

• Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS), last season's top scorer, missed his ninth game in a row and his 10th of the season due to injury.
• This was Pepperdine's third road game in the last six days.
• Though the Waves lead the all-time series with LBSU 17-11, the Beach has now won five of the last six meetings.

UP NEXT
 
After a break for Christmas, the Waves return to action with their non-conference finale on New Year's Eve in Firestone Fieldhouse. Pepperdine takes on Alabama A&M on Monday, December 31, at 3 p.m. Al Epstein will have the call of the game with WaveCasts on TheW.tv.