Tuesday, November 19
Los Angeles, Calif.
6:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
3-2
84
at
91
USC
5-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperdine | 37 | 47 | 84 |
| USC | 44 | 47 | 91 |
Colbey Ross
Photo by: Sarah Otteman
Ross Hits Career High in Close Loss at USC
11/19/2019 8:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES, California – The Pepperdine men's basketball team put a scare into USC and Colbey Ross had another monster game with a career-high 38 points, but the unbeaten Trojans managed to post a 91-84 victory at the Galen Center on Tuesday night.
The Waves (3-2) jumped out to a 10-point lead a little more than eight minutes into the first half, but the Trojans (5-0) went up 44-37 at halftime. USC led by as many as 12 in the second half, though Pepperdine made it a three-point game with two minutes to play before the Trojans pulled out the win.
BIG WAVES
USC led early at 10-6, but the Waves went on an 11-0 run to go ahead 17-11, and pushed the run to 15-1 to take a 10-point lead at 21-11 with under 12 minutes to play in the first half. Pepperdine held USC without a field goal for nearly five minutes.
It was still a 10-point game at 25-15 with 10 minutes to go, but the Trojans eventually regained the lead at 32-31. After Ross made two free throws to put the Waves back in front, USC ended the half on a 12-4 run to go into the break with a 44-37 advantage.
Ross scored the Waves' final 12 points of the first half and had 16 at the break.
USC pushed the lead to its biggest of the game at 73-61 with 9 1/2 minutes to play. But the Waves immediately responded with an 8-0 run, four of them by Ross, and kept USC scoreless for nearly five minutes. That cut the lead to 73-69 with five minutes to go.
USC got the lead back up to nine at 78-69 with 3:43 left, but Chavez, Ross and Edwards made three-pointers in a 9-3 run. Edwards' three made the score 81-78 with 2:14 to play.
But the Trojans would take advantage of a couple of turnovers and score the next six points, pushing the lead back up to nine at 87-78 with a minute to go.
NOTABLES
Pepperdine is in a stretch where six of seven games will be away from home, but this Saturday (Nov. 23) is the lone game in Malibu when the Waves take on Sacramento State at 7 p.m. Fans can watch on WaveCasts via the WCC Network with Al Epstein on the call.
The Waves (3-2) jumped out to a 10-point lead a little more than eight minutes into the first half, but the Trojans (5-0) went up 44-37 at halftime. USC led by as many as 12 in the second half, though Pepperdine made it a three-point game with two minutes to play before the Trojans pulled out the win.
BIG WAVES
- Junior guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) hit the 30-point mark for the second time in his career, going 13-for-20 from the field, 6-for-10 on three-pointers and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. He also had team highs of six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 36 minutes. Twenty-two points came in the second half. His previous career high was 36 set against Pacific last season.
- Senior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) scored 18 points and had five rebounds.
- Junior guard Skylar Chavez (Woodacre, Calif./Drake HS/Santa Rosa JC) scored 10 points and had five rebounds.
- Sophomore guard Darryl Polk Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) scored eight points on 4-for-4 shooting.
- Overall shooting was close, with USC at 47.5% and Pepperdine at 46.9%
- But, the Trojans got to the free throw line nearly twice as much as the Waves, and went 28-for-34 compared to Pepperdine's 15-for-18.
- USC's Onyeka Okongwu, one of the nation's top freshmen, scored 33 points and made 17 of 21 free throws.
USC led early at 10-6, but the Waves went on an 11-0 run to go ahead 17-11, and pushed the run to 15-1 to take a 10-point lead at 21-11 with under 12 minutes to play in the first half. Pepperdine held USC without a field goal for nearly five minutes.
It was still a 10-point game at 25-15 with 10 minutes to go, but the Trojans eventually regained the lead at 32-31. After Ross made two free throws to put the Waves back in front, USC ended the half on a 12-4 run to go into the break with a 44-37 advantage.
Ross scored the Waves' final 12 points of the first half and had 16 at the break.
USC pushed the lead to its biggest of the game at 73-61 with 9 1/2 minutes to play. But the Waves immediately responded with an 8-0 run, four of them by Ross, and kept USC scoreless for nearly five minutes. That cut the lead to 73-69 with five minutes to go.
USC got the lead back up to nine at 78-69 with 3:43 left, but Chavez, Ross and Edwards made three-pointers in a 9-3 run. Edwards' three made the score 81-78 with 2:14 to play.
But the Trojans would take advantage of a couple of turnovers and score the next six points, pushing the lead back up to nine at 87-78 with a minute to go.
NOTABLES
- The Waves are now 0-2 against the Pac-12 this season but 3-0 against everyone else.
- Ross had his streak of consecutive made free throws end at 32 – the second-longest in school history, two shy of Stacy Davis' school record of 34.
- With three assists tonight, Ross raised his career total to 454. He's second all-time at Pepperdine and is now just 40 behind Jeremy Major's school record of 494.
- USC now leads the all-time series 6-2.
Pepperdine is in a stretch where six of seven games will be away from home, but this Saturday (Nov. 23) is the lone game in Malibu when the Waves take on Sacramento State at 7 p.m. Fans can watch on WaveCasts via the WCC Network with Al Epstein on the call.
Add Pepperdine to the list of teams that could be formidable in the WCC. Very impressive tonight in a close loss at USC.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 20, 2019
What a game from Pepperdine PG Colbey Ross: 38 PTS on just 20 shots in a narrow loss to USC. Made shots from all over the floor, dropped in a handful of floaters/finesse finishes, and created for teammates in a variety of ways. Have always loved his mental makeup. So skilled. pic.twitter.com/CihE9XeFjh
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) November 20, 2019
Team Stats
PEP
USC
FG%
.469
.475
3FG%
.409
.350
FT%
.833
.824
RB
28
38
TO
12
14
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Pts
38
FGM
13
3FGM
6
FTM
6
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
