SAN DIEGO, California – Kessler Edwards scored 20 points to lead a balanced effort as the Pepperdine men's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season with a resounding 86-72 victory over UC Irvine on Wednesday at San Diego State's multi-team event.
The Waves (1-0) had five players score in double-digits and seven notch at least eight points. Pepperdine got off to a sluggish start but rallied late in the first half to take a 41-36 lead at halftime over the Anteaters (0-1), and went up by as many as 23 in the second half.
BIG WAVES
- Junior forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had 20 points and seven rebounds. He made a pair of three-pointers and had two assists. It was his seventh career 20-point game.
- Senior guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) finished with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
- Junior guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) made a nice return after missing most of last season due to injury and redshirting. He had 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds and two steals.
- Sophomore forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) also made a solid return after missing the second half of last season because of injury. He scored 12 points off the bench.
- Making his Pepperdine debut, grad transfer forward Kene Chukwuka (Stockholm, Sweden/Pitt) had 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks. He made a pair of three-pointers.
- Junior center Victor Ohia Obioha (Owerri, Nigeria/Hillcrest HS) and sophomore guard Sedrick Altman (Rialto, Calif./Colony HS) each scored eight points. Ohia Obioha had six rebounds and Altman had three assists.
KEY STATS
- Pepperdine shot 59.4% in the second half and an even 50.0% for the game. UCI shot 39.1% overall.
- The Waves were one of the most accurate free throw shooting teams in the country last year and kept that going in the season opener, going 14-for-15 (93.3%) from the line.
- Through turnover totals were fairly even (10 by the Waves, 11 by the Anteaters), Pepperdine enjoyed a 19-11 edge in points off turnovers.
- UC Irvine was led by Brad Greene's 20 points and nine rebounds.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Waves led briefly at the start at 6-4, but UCI scored the next eight points and led for the majority of the second half, including by as many as eight points at 16-8. Trailing 30-23 with six minutes to go, the Waves got things going. Edwards had six points and Chukwuka had five as Pepperdine ended the half on an 18-6 run (6-0 in the final minute-plus), erasing the deficit and taking a 41-36 lead at the break.
Ross hit a pair of jumpers as the Waves scored the first seven points of the second half, extending the run to 13-0 and building a 48-36 lead, good for the first double-digit advantage for either side. The lead grew to 20 points at 65-45 with 11 1/2 minutes to go after an Edwards basket. Pepperdine's biggest lead came at 73-50 with 8:20 to play after a pair of Ohia Obioha lay-ups.
NOTABLES
- Ross moved closer to breaking Pepperdine's all-time scoring record. His 13 points now gives him 1,776. He needs 10 to tie and 11 to pass Stacy Davis' record total of 1,786.
- Three Waves made their Pepperdine debuts. In addition to Chukwuka, redshirt freshman guard Majok Deng (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic HS) played the final six minutes and scored two points. Freshman guard Malachy Caffrey (Yakima, Wash./La Salle HS) entered in the final minute.
- Pepperdine beat UCI for the fifth straight time and now leads the all-time series 14-10.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine stays in San Diego to face #22 UCLA on Friday (Nov. 27) at noon. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks and there will be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein at PepperdineWaves.com.
