LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Darryl Polk Jr. and
Colbey Ross led a stunning second-half comeback to propel the Pepperdine men's basketball team into the second round of the West Coast Conference Championships with a 61-53 victory over Pacific on Thursday night.
Facing much adversity, the eighth-seeded Waves (14-17) battled back from a 12-point deficit with 12 minutes remaining, outscoring the ninth-seeded Tigers (14-18) 32-12 the rest of the way.
BIG WAVES
- Freshman guard Darryl Polk Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) scored a career-best 15 points, 10 of them in the second half. He went 4-for-5 from the field, sank two three-pointers and was 5-for-6 from the foul line.
- Sophomore guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) finished strong after a tough night shooting and dealing with foul trouble. He scored 14 points after going scoreless in the first half, with a 7-for-8 effort from the free throw line.
- Sophomore guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) scored 10 points and had three steals before fouling out late.
- Freshman forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) grabbed 11 rebounds.
- Senior guard Eric Cooper Jr. (Ontario, Calif./St. Anthony HS/Nevada) sank three three-pointers and scored nine points.
- Freshman center Victor Ohia Obioha (Owerri, Nigeria/Hillcrest HS) contributed seven points and four blocked shots.
KEY STATS
- Pepperdine's defense was phenomenal in the second half, holding Pacific to 23.8% shooting while forcing 13 turnovers.
- The Waves shot 37.5% overall (34.5% in the first, 42.1% in the second) to the Tigers' 33.3%.
- Forty-four fouls were called, and the Waves went 18-for-22 from the foul line compared to 18-for-25 by the Tigers.
- Pacific got 22 points and 11 rebounds from Jeremiah Bailey.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Waves never led in the first half, as Pacific went up 5-0 and 10-5 early. A lay-up by Smith and a three-pointer by freshman guard/forward
Andre Ball (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS) tied the game at 10, though Pacific scored the next seven points. After falling behind 22-13, the Waves would tie it up again thanks to an 11-2 run, making the score 24-24 after a lay-up by Ohia Obioha. Pacific would go into the break with a 28-24 lead.
Things got worse early in the second half. Smith picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first three minutes of the second half. Less than five minutes into the half, Ball fell hard to the floor after a lob attempt. After several minutes, he was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated.
All this helped Pacific get out to a 41-29 lead with 13 minutes to go. But then, Pepperdine found its form. Polk made four free throws in a 7-0 run that got the deficit down to 41-36 with 11 minutes left.
At 45-36 with nine minutes to go, Pepperdine went on a 10-0 run – including five points by Polk, and a go-ahead three-pointer by Cooper -- to claim its first lead at 46-45 with six minutes left. However, Ross picked up his fourth foul early in the run, and had to sit down.
Smith fouled out with under four minutes to play and Pacific tied the game at 48 with a free throw. The Waves finally got some separation, as Ohia Obioha scored off a Ross assist, and then Ross nailed a three-pointer on the next possession to make it 53-48 with three minutes to go.
It was a three-point game at 56-53 with a minute and a half left, but the Waves held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way while going 5-for-6 from the foul line to put the game away.
NOTABLES
- Junior forward Kameron Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS), the team's second-leading scorer and top rebounder, played in his first game since suffering a foot injury on February 9. He played five first-half minutes.
- This is the second straight season that the Waves have been swept in the regular season by an opponent, only to beat them in the first round of the WCC Championships.
- The Waves ended a five-game losing streak to Pacific.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Lorenzo Romar said: "It was a big gut-check victory for us. Pacific, you talk about a team that's a very difficult matchup. This game was an all-out war. They're very physical. But I couldn't be happier with our team, with the amount of physical and mental toughness we showed down the stretch."
Darryl Polk Jr. said: "I think that Dre going down kind of brought us together as a team. We knew had to come together for him. And then we had to fight for our seniors, we didn't want it to be their last game."
UP NEXT
Pepperdine next meets PCH Cup rival Loyola Marymount in Friday night's second round. Game time is 6 p.m. again. It will be televised by Spectrum SportsNet, BYUtv and TheW.tv, while there will be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein on the call at PepperdineWaves.com.
