MALIBU, California – Six members of the Pepperdine men's basketball team scored in double-figures and the Waves shot 60% from the field in a big 100-64 victory over visiting Alabama A&M on Monday to close out non-conference play.
The Waves (7-7) never trailed in earning their seventh win, surpassing their entire win total for the 2017-18 season. Alabama A&M fell to 1-13 after the New Year's Eve game.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) led all scorers with a career-high 19 points. He made six of eight shots, three of four three-pointers and four of five free throws, while adding five assists, five rebounds and three steals.
- Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) handed out a career-high 13 assists. He notched his third double-double of the season with 10 points. Ross came into the game averaging 20.1 points and although that was a season low for him in scoring, he made four of six shots and most of his focus was spent distributing the ball. He also had three steals.
- Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his college career today. He had 17 points and made four three-pointers.
- Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had missed the previous nine games due to injury but he returned to the starting lineup and scored 13 points.
- Senior forward Darnell Dunn (Kinston, N.C./Kinston HS/Miami Dade JC) had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
- Freshman forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) came off the bench for the first time this season and scored 13 points, while making all three of his three-point attempts.
- Freshman guard Darryl Polk Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) almost gave the Waves seven double-digit scorers but he settled for a season-high-tying nine points to go with two steals.
KEY STATS
- The Waves shot 59.6% from the field (53.3% in the first half, 66.7% in the second), compared to 44.4% for the Bulldogs.
- Pepperdine made a season-high 15 three-pointers on 29 attempts (51.7%). AAMU was 11-for-23 from deep.
- The Waves forced 24 turnovers while committing 15 and had a 31-19 edge in points off turnovers.
- Alabama A&M only had one player score in double-figures, Tre Todd with 14 points.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Waves scored the first five points of the game and never trailed. Less than seven minutes in, Pepperdine went up by double-figures. The last time the game was in single-digits was at 30-21 with less than six minutes to go in the second half. At 38-24, the Waves closed the half on a 12-0 run to go into the break with a 50-24 lead. All eight Waves that played in the first half scored, including 14 points from Cooper and 13 from Smith.
The Waves scored 50 points again in the second half. Pepperdine's biggest lead of the game was 48 points at 100-52 with three minutes left, but the Bulldogs scored the final 12 points of the game.
NOTABLES
- The Waves opened the season with a 100-66 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills. This is the first time the Waves have had two 100-point games in a season since 1989-90.
- Pepperdine's 15 three-pointers were its most since January 2008.
- This was the first-ever meeting between Pepperdine and Alabama A&M.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Lorenzo Romar said: "Regardless of the score, if you play the right way, you have to be pleased for that night, and I thought we played the right way.
Colbey Ross was very good running the team, getting 13 assists, he didn't force anything, he got people involved.
Jade' Smith was a monster out there. It was great to have
Kameron Edwards back. His presence helps us a great deal. We can head into conference feeling like we played the right way."
UP NEXT
Pepperdine begins West Coast Conference play this weekend with a pair of home games. The Waves face PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount on Thursday (Jan. 3) at 7 p.m. and San Francisco on Saturday (Jan. 5) at 5 p.m. The LMU game will be televised by Spectrum SportsNet and the USF game will be on TheW.tv. Al Epstein will have the call of both games on WaveCasts.
