Final Stats | Photo Gallery

Box Score

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The Pepperdine men's basketball team nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of the West Coast Conference Championships, but a late comeback by #22 Saint Mary's let the Gaels eke out a 69-66 quarterfinal victory at the Orleans Arena on Saturday night.

The 10th-seeded Waves (6-26) went up 19-4 early and led for a total of 33:17 in the contest, but a barrage of Calvin Hermanson three-pointers in the final four minutes saved the second-seeded Gaels (28-4). Pepperdine had two chances in the final 10 seconds to tie the game with three-pointers, but both were off the mark.

This was the final game for head coach Marty Wilson, as it was announced on February 13 that he will not be returning next season.

BIG WAVES

• Freshman guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) scored 15 points and had seven rebounds and two steals.
• Junior forward Darnell Dunn (Kinston, N.C./Kinston HS/Miami Dade JC) also had 15 points and posted six rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had 13 points and eight rebounds.
• Freshman guard Trae Berhow (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer HS) scored 13 points.
• Senior guard Amadi Udenyi (Oakland, Calif./De La Salle HS) had six points and three assists.

KEY STATS

• Pepperdine shot 40.0% in the first half and 38.7% in the second, for 39.3% total.
• Saint Mary's shot 40.0% in the first half and 57.1% in the second, for 47.8% total.
• The Gaels made 11 of 22 three-pointers, compared to six-for-16 by the Waves.
• The Waves won the turnover battle, committing only six while forcing 15. The Waves had a 10-2 edge in points off turnovers.
• Saint Mary's got 19 points from Jordan Ford, 17 points and 19 rebounds from WCC Player of the Year Jock Landale and 14 points from Hermanson.

PLAY BY PLAY

On Friday night, the Waves opened up a 21-5 lead on Santa Clara after seven-plus minutes. Saturday night was almost as good, as the Waves were up 19-4 on the Gaels after eight minutes. Berhow had eight points and Udenyi had four in the great start.

Unfortunately, the Waves then hit a huge drought, getting only a Ross three-pointer over nearly nine minutes, and the Gaels went on a 19-3 run to take their only lead of the half at 23-22.

But, the Waves then responded with seven straight points, the first four by Dunn and the next three by Edwards to restore the advantage at 29-23 with two minutes left. Pepperdine eventually went into the break with a 33-28 lead.

The Waves held on to the lead for much of the second half, with their biggest second-half lead of nine points at 43-34. It was a seven-point lead at 48-41 with 12 minutes left, but the Gaels scored seven straight to tie the game at 48 with 10 minutes left.

The game was also tied at 50 and 56. The Waves led 62-57 with under four minutes to go after an Edwards three-pointer, but that's when Hermanson took over. He made two free throws, then sank two three-pointers for a personal 8-0 run. The first three tied the game at 62 with 3 1/2 minutes left and the next one gave the Gaels their first lead of the half at 65-62 with 2:28 left.

Edwards sank two free throws with two minutes left to make it a one-point game, but Hermanson added a three-pointer with 1:43 left to put SMC up 68-64. The Gaels would only get one point the rest of the way, but the Waves would only get one basket by Ross. Pepperdine went 0-for-5 from the field in the final minute, including three three-point attempts.

NOTABLES

• Three scholarship players were unavailable tonight: Eric Cooper Jr. (shoulder), Harrison Meads (concussion) and Nolan Taylor (shoulder).This was the 25th time in 32 games that the Waves have had multiple key rotation players out.
• This was the final game for fifth-year point guard Amadi Udenyi, second-year player and first-year law school student Kevin Hempy and graduate transfer Matthew Atewe.

VIDEOS