ANAHEIM, California – Down two starters, the Pepperdine men's basketball team put together a remarkable effort against Providence, including a huge second-half performance by Colbey Ross, but the Friars came away with an 80-77 victory in the seventh-place game at the Wooden Legacy on Sunday afternoon.
 
Short-handed Pepperdine (3-6) rallied back from a 14-point deficit midway through the second half to get within two points on four occasions in the final 3 1/2 minutes, and had one chance late to tie the game against Providence (5-4) before the Friars finally ran out the clock.
 
BIG WAVES

• Junior guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half. He finished one point shy of James Harden's Wooden Legacy record for points in a half. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. He made five three-pointers, all in the second half. In four games against Power 5 schools this season, Ross has averaged 26.5 points.
• Sophomore forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) collected his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
• Freshman forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) eclipsed his previous season high of seven points less than 10 minutes into the contest. He finished with 16 points (making six of 10 shots with two three-pointers) in 17 minutes before fouling out.
• Sophomore guard Darryl Polk Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) had four points, a team-high and career-high six assists, three rebounds and three steals, all in a career-high 34 minutes.

KEY STATS 

• The Waves shot 43.3% to the Friars' 47.4%.
• Pepperdine entered the game #1 in the country in free throw percentage but had its first sub-80% game of the season, making 16 of 23 (69.6%). Providence was at 20-for-27 (74.1%).
• Both teams had 13 offensive rebounds but the Friars enjoyed a 17-10 edge in second-chance points.
• The Waves committed 12 turnovers and forced 16, leading to a 22-17 advantage in points off turnovers.
• Providence put four players in double-figures, led by Nate Watson and A.J. Reeves' 15 points each.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Waves got off to a spirited start, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage after 4 1/2 minutes. They matched what would be their largest lead of the game at 19-12 with under 10 minutes to play after an Edwards basket.
 
Providence finally took its first lead of the half at 24-23 with six minutes left. After Edwards put the Waves ahead 27-26 with 4 1/2 minutes to go, the Friars ended the half on a 12-4 run to take a 38-31 lead at the break.
 
After Providence pushed the lead to 43-34 early in the second half, Ross hit a three and Zidek made a pair of lay-ups to get it back to two at 43-41.
 
At 50-46, the Friars went on an 11-1 run in a span of a little more than a minute to make it 61-47 with 10 1/2 minutes left. Providence still had a double-digit lead at 67-56 with 6:26 to go when Pepperdine began its comeback.
 
At 69-61, Ross had six points in an 8-2 run, cutting the deficit to two at 71-69 with 3:14 left. The Waves would make it a two-point game three more times – 73-71 with 2:48 left after a Ross lay-up, 75-73 with 1:43 left after a Polk Jr. lay-up and 77-75 with 30 seconds left after an Edwards basket – but each of the first three times, Providence scored on its next possession to increase the lead back up to four.
 
On the fourth, Providence made one of two free throws with 23 seconds left to make it a three-point lead at 78-75. But the Waves turned the ball over, and the Friars iced the game with two free throws.
 
NOTABLES 

• Senior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) and junior guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) were sidelined for this game. Edwards suffered a broken nose in Friday's game against UCF, while Smith was ill. Their absences meant the Waves were down to eight scholarship players.
• Polk and sophomore center Victor Ohia Obioha (Owerri, Nigeria/Hillcrest HS) both made their second career starts, and first of the season.
• This was the first-ever meeting between Pepperdine and Providence.
• With his three assists today, Ross raised his career total to 484. He's second all-time at Pepperdine and is now just 10 behind Jeremy Major's school record of 494.

UP NEXT
 
After playing seven of the first nine games away from Malibu, the Waves return to Firestone Fieldhouse for the next four contests, starting with Friday's (Dec. 6) 6 p.m. contest against Idaho State. The game can be seen online via WaveCasts on the WCC Network with Al Epstein on the call.