Skip To Main Content

Pepperdine University Athletics

Jade' Smith at Gonzaga
Roger Horne
Jade' Smith
64
Pepperdine PEP 12-16, 5-9 WCC
92
Winner Gonzaga GON 26-2, 13-0 WCC
Pepperdine PEP
12-16, 5-9 WCC
64
Final
92
Gonzaga GON
26-2, 13-0 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Pepperdine PEP 33 31 64
Gonzaga GON 53 39 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | by Athletic Communications

Men's Basketball Falls at #2 Gonzaga

SPOKANE, Washington – Second-ranked Gonzaga proved to be a tough test for the Pepperdine men's basketball team, as the Bulldogs posted a 92-64 win in West Coast Conference play on Thursday evening.
 
The Waves (12-16, 5-9) wrapped up a tough road stretch against most of the WCC's best teams tonight. The Bulldogs (26-2, 13-0) won their 17th straight game and clinched at least a share of the conference's regular-season title.
 
BIG WAVES
  • Senior forward Darnell Dunn (Kinston, N.C./Kinston HS/Miami Dade JC) had his best output in a WCC game this season, scoring a team-high 16 points while grabbing a team-best seven rebounds.
  • Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) had 12 points and eight assists.
  • Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) scored 13 points to go with five rebounds and three assists.
  • Freshman forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) set a Pepperdine freshman record by recording six steals in a game.
KEY STATS 
  • The Bulldogs shot 62.7% to the Waves' 38.2%.
  • The Waves won the turnover battle, 14 to 13.
  • The Bulldogs got 52 of their points in the paint.
  • Gonzaga got 23 points from Rui Hachimura (21 in the first half), 21 points from Zach Norvell Jr. (17 in the first half) and 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks from Brandon Clarke.
 PLAY BY PLAY
 
The opening stretch was terrific for the Waves. After Gonzaga scored on its opening possession, Pepperdine held the Bulldogs scoreless for more than three minutes. And after the Waves scored seven straight points – an offensive rebound and putback by Dunn, a defensive rebound followed by a lay-up by Smith and a three-pointer by Ross – the score was 7-2 in favor of Pepperdine.
 
But, the Bulldogs scored the next nine points, took their first double-digit lead at 21-11 after another 9-0 run, and eventually went into halftime with a 53-33 lead.
 
The Waves had a brilliant 4 1/2-minute stretch in the second half in putting together a 21-3 run. Six different Waves scored during the spurt, led by seven by Dunn and five by freshman center Victor Ohia Obioha (Owerri, Nigeria/Hillcrest HS), which cut the Bulldog lead to 71-56 with nine minutes remaining. The Bulldogs responded with the next six points, however, and the Waves would get no closer.
 
NOTABLES
  • Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS), the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder, missed his 13th game of the season. He injured his left foot at the end of the February 9 San Diego game and is out indefinitely.
  • Ross moved up to sixth place on Pepperdine's all-time assist list and he now has 384. He also moved up to second place on the single-season assist list with 205 (and became only the third Wave to get 200 in a season). He could break the record of 208 on Saturday.
  • Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) made three three-pointers, giving him 72 on the season and moving him up to a tie for sixth on the Waves' single-season list.
UP NEXT
 
The Waves return home to host Portland on Saturday (Feb. 23) at 5 p.m. The game will be shown via WaveCasts on TheW.tv with Al Epstein.
 
Print Friendly Version