MALIBU, California – Another rough second half cost the Pepperdine men's basketball team, as Santa Clara pulled out a 79-71 West Coast Conference victory on Thursday night.
 
The game was tied at 34 at halftime but the Broncos (13-11, 5-5) outscored the Waves (11-13, 4-6) 45-37 after the break.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) earned his sixth double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 assists. It was 11th time this season scoring 20 or more points, and seventh time recording double-figure assists. He also had three steals and went 10-for-12 from the free throw line.
• Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) scored 14 points and had eight rebounds.
• Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) scored 11 points.
• Freshman guard Andre Ball (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS) had a season-high nine points and matched another season high with five rebounds.
• Freshman forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had eight points and six rebounds.

KEY STATS

• The Waves shot 45.2% in the first half but 35.5% in the second to finish at 40.3% overall.
• The Broncos were at 43.8% in the first half, 53.3% in the second and 48.4% overall.
• The Waves had a tough game from distance, going 6-for-25 on threes. The Broncos shot 8-for-22 from beyond the arc.
• Santa Clara got 26 points from Josip Vrankic to lead four double-digit scorers.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
Pepperdine scored the first four points of the game, but Santa Clara came back with the next 10, and later went ahead 17-11. Ball scored six points during an 8-0 run that put the Waves back ahead 19-17. A pair of three-pointers by Ross helped extend the run to 18-4, and Pepperdine took its largest lead of the game at 29-21. But the Broncos would go on a seven-point run, and it would eventually go into halftime tied at 34.
 
The Waves took their last lead at 37-36 early in the second half on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS), but Santa Clara scored the next seven points and never trailed again. At 46-44, the Broncos ran off four lay-ups in a couple of minutes to take their first double-digit lead at 54-44. Santa Clara went up by as many as 13 and the Waves only got as close as six at 67-61 with a little less than five minutes to play.
 
UP NEXT
 
The Waves are home again on Saturday (Feb. 9) against San Diego at 1 p.m. in the WCC Game of the Week. It will be shown locally on Spectrum SportsNet, and there will be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein at PepperdineWaves.com.