LOS ANGELES, California – Despite 14 three-pointers and a game-high 22 points from
Kameron Edwards, the Pepperdine men's basketball team ended up on the wrong end of a PCH Cup rivalry battle on Saturday afternoon, falling 74-70 at Loyola Marymount in West Coast Conference play.
Although this was just the third weekend of conference play, the Waves (9-11, 2-4) and Lions (14-5, 2-3) are already done with their season series. Pepperdine won at home, 77-62, in the conference opener on January 3.
It was a close game throughout, although LMU went up by 10 with five minutes left. The Waves got the deficit down to two multiple times and at one point had a shot to take the lead.
BIG WAVES
- Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had his third consecutive game of 20 or more points with his 22. He made three three-pointers and also had six rebounds.
- Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) had his best game of WCC play with 18 points. He made four three-pointers.
- Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) scored 11 points and had four rebounds and three assists. He connected on three three-pointers.
- Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) recorded 10 assists, his sixth time this season in double-figures (and fourth time in the last seven games). He scored in double-figures each of the first 19 games of the season but was limited to six today on a pair of three-pointers.
KEY STATS
- The Waves were outshot 51.9% to 43.9% overall. In just the second half, it was 64.3% to 51.6%.
- Pepperdine went 14-for-31 from three, while the Lions were just 5-for-17.
- Six of the eight Waves that played made a three-pointer, while four of them hit multiple.
- But the Lions owned the paint, outscoring the Waves 40-18 from close range.
- For only the second time this season, Pepperdine committed more turnovers than the opponent, 15 to 14.
- There were 12 lead changes and nine ties.
- LMU had five players score in double-figures, led by Eli Scott's 17 points.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Waves held a 14-12 lead before going more than six minutes without a field goal, but LMU could only turn that into a 24-18 lead. The Waves rallied to tie it at 27 after
Kessler Edwards scored six straight points. LMU went into halftime with a 31-30 lead.
The Waves regained the lead at 37-35 on a
Kameron Edwards dunk. Back-to-back three-pointers by Smith and Edwards gave the Waves their largest lead of the game at 43-39 with 15 minutes left.
Tied at 49, the Lions got the next two baskets, and then extended the run to 10-3, putting them ahead 59-52 with eight minutes to go. They grew the lead to 68-58 with five minutes left.
Then, the Waves held the Lions without a point for the next four minutes. Cooper Jr. scored on a driving lay-up, and then Ross hit a pair of three-pointers to make it a two-point game at 68-66 with two minutes left. After Edwards took a charge, the Waves had a chance to take the lead on a three-point attempt, but it was off the mark.
LMU scored to go back up by four, and then the teams traded points the rest of the way, so the Waves wouldn't have another shot to tie or go ahead before time ran out.
NOTABLES
- The Waves lost for the fourth straight season in Gersten Pavilion. This was the ninth straight time that the home team has won the meeting between rivals.
- The all-time series between Pepperdine and LMU is now 101-69 in the Waves' favor.
- The 14 three-pointers was actually only the second-most by the Waves this season (they made 15 against Alabama A&M).
- The Waves are now 1-1 in the West Coast Conference Game of the Week (they won on the road at San Diego last Saturday). They have one more at home against San Diego on February 9.
UP NEXT
The Waves get Thursday night off, so their next contest will be at home next Saturday (Jan. 26) at 5 p.m. against Saint Mary's. It'll be shown locally on Spectrum SportsNet and there will also be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein.
