MALIBU, California – Colbey Ross scored 11 of his career-high 29 points in overtime to help lift the Pepperdine men's basketball team to an 84-77 victory over visiting Saint Mary's on Saturday in West Coast Conference action.
Kameron Edwards added a season-high 24 points to help the Waves improve to 10-11 overall and 3-4 in the WCC, while dropping the favored Gaels to 13-9 and 4-3.
BIG WAVES
- Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) set a career high for the second time in four games, surpassing the 27 he had in a win at San Diego two weeks ago. He made both of his three-point attempts and went a career-best 15-for-16 from the foul line. He also had nine assists.
- Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had his fourth consecutive game with 22 points or better. He also had eight rebounds.
- Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) scored 11 points and made three of five three-pointers. He added a career-high-tying six rebounds.
- Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) had seven points and nine rebounds and played exceptional defense against Saint Mary's high-scoring guard Jordan Ford. Ford entered the game second in the WCC in scoring at 21.9 points per game and while he scored 17 tonight, he did it on 6-for-16 shooting thanks to Smith's defense.
KEY STATS
- The Waves outshot the Gaels 48.1% to 42.9%.
- Pepperdine went 11-for-19 on three-pointers (57.9%). The Gaels entered the game as the WCC's most accurate three-point shooting team but went 7-for-32 (21.9%).
- Led by Ross, the Waves went 23-for-25 from the foul line, while the Gaels were 10-for-17.
- Despite 16 offensive rebounds by the Gaels, total rebounding numbers were fairly even (SMC 37, Pepperdine 35).
- The Waves had a rare game where they committed more turnovers than the opponent, 13 to 10.
- Saint Mary's got 27 points from Malik Fitts, though he fouled out in the overtime period.
PLAY BY PLAY
In the first half, Pepperdine led 18-15 but an 8-0 Gaels run made it 23-18. They took their biggest lead of the game at 29-23 and 31-25, but the Waves scored the final seven points of the second half to go into the break with a 32-31 lead.
The Gaels hit their first six shots of the second half and went up by four a couple of times, but an 8-0 run with five points by Smith gave Pepperdine the lead back at 49-45. The Waves' lead grew as large as nine at 59-50 with nine minutes left after two Ross free throws.
Saint Mary's rallied, however, eventually taking the lead back at 67-66 with 2 1/2 minutes left. Ross made two free throws with 1:54 to go to put Pepperdine in front 68-67. It stayed that way until SMC's Ford scored with 22 second left. On Pepperdine's final possession, Ross made one of two free throws to tie the game with six seconds left. SMC had a chance to win but committed an offensive foul in the final second.
Ross scored the Waves' first six points of overtime. After he made two free throws, an Edwards lay-up made it 77-72 with 1:30 left. SMC drew within two points after a Ford three-pointer but Ross came right back with a basket. After Ford made two free throws to cut Pepperdine's lead to 79-77 with 53 seconds left, Ross came up big again, sinking a three-pointer from the top of the key. The Waves got a defensive stop, and then Edwards iced the game with two free throws with three seconds left.
Pepperdine outscored SMC 15-8 in the overtime period.
NOTABLES
- The Waves ended a six-game losing streak to the Gaels.
- Saint Mary's had a chance to tie the all-time series but the Waves now lead 72-70.
- The game reunited Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar and Saint Mary's Coach Randy Bennett. Bennett was an assistant coach under Romar during his first stint as head coach here in the late 1990s.
- Pepperdine has now won 10 games in a season for the first time since 2015-16.
UP NEXT
The Waves are on the road for five of the next seven games, starting Thursday (Jan. 31) at Portland for a 7 p.m. contest. It will be televised by ROOT Northwest but fans in Southern California will be able to watch on TheW.tv. Al Epstein will also have the call on WaveCasts at PepperdineWaves.com.
