SAN DIEGO, California – Colbey Ross became the all-time leading scorer in Pepperdine men's basketball history and poured in a game-high 33 points, but #22 UCLA prevailed in a triple-overtime thriller, 107-98, on Friday afternoon at San Diego State's multi-team event.
Ross, a candidate for the Naismith and Cousy awards, now stands at 1,809 career points and surpassed Stacy Davis' total of 1,786 points between 2013-16.
The Waves (1-1) led 39-32 at halftime but trailed the Bruins (1-1) by six with three minutes left in regulation before rallying to tie the game at 70 and send it to OT. Pepperdine trailed for most of the first overtime but Ross scored on a runner with six seconds left to tie the contest at 81, leading to the second overtime.
A late free throw by UCLA tied the game at 89 and sent it to a third overtime. The Bruins hit a pair of three-pointers early in the third OT and were finally able to put the Waves away.
The contest featured a total of 13 lead changes and 19 ties. A combined total of five players fouled out, including three of Pepperdine's starters.
BIG WAVES
- Senior guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) recorded the sixth 30-point game of his career, tying him for second all-time with the Waves. His record-breaking points came on three free throws with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. He made three three-pointers, went 10-for-12 from the foul line and had six rebounds, three assists and two steals. He played all 55 minutes of the contest.
- Junior forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had 17 points and five rebounds but fouled out at the start of the first overtime.
- Sophomore forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) contributed 14 points, nine of them coming in overtime, along with five rebounds.
- Junior guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) had 12 points and four rebounds.
- Grad transfer forward Kene Chukwuka (Stockholm, Sweden/Pitt) notched 10 points and five rebounds but fouled out late in regulation.
KEY STATS
- UCLA shot 43.9% overall to Pepperdine's 40.0%.
- The Waves attempted 41 three-pointers – the program's second-most ever in a game – and made nine (22.0%). UCLA went 10-for-34 (29.4%).
- Pepperdine was one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country last year and the Waves went 29-for-33 (87.9%). The Bruins nearly had some costly misses and went 25-for-37 (67.6%).
- UCLA put five players in double-figures. Chris Smith had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Tyger Campbell scored 22 points and Jaime Jacquez Jr. had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Waves played a strong first half, particularly in the latter end. Leading 25-24, Smith and Edwards hit three-pointers to put Pepperdine up seven. The Waves took their largest lead of the game at nine at 39-30 following Ross' record-breaking free throws with 15 seconds left, and it was 39-32 at the break.
A 13-2 UCLA run near the start of the second half put the Bruins in front 47-44. The Waves' last lead of the second half was at 56-54 with 8 1/2 minutes left after a Ross jumper. UCLA went up by six at 68-62 with three minutes to go, but the Waves fought back and tied it at 70 on a Smith three-pointer with 59 seconds left. Both teams had multiple opportunities for a game-winner but misfired.
A Ross three-pointer gave Pepperdine an early 73-71 lead in the first OT, but UCLA scored the next six points. Ross tied it at 77 on a three-point play with 1:33 left. He tied it again at 81 with six seconds left on a runner in the lane, and UCLA missed a shot at the buzzer.
The schools traded baskets for the start of the second overtime. Zidek hit a short hook shot with 1:07 left, putting Pepperdine ahead 89-88. UCLA had four free throws in the final 10 seconds but made just one, tying the game. The Waves missed a shot at the buzzer.
The Bruins made six of their nine field-goal attempts in the third overtime, outscoring the Waves 18-9 to finally end the contest.
NOTABLES
- Ross, who was making his 100th career start in his 100th career game, accomplished the scoring record in 25 fewer games than Davis. With his 10 free throws made, he also set the program's all-time record today with 529 makes (passing Geoff Lear's total of 528 set from 1989-92). Both Ross and Lamond Murray Jr. have now had six 30-point games. Bird Averitt holds the record with 27.
- In his last four games against the Pac-12 dating back to last year, Ross has averaged 27.5 points, with a pair of 30-point games.
- It's the second time in the last three games that the Waves have played multiple overtimes (dating back to last season's WCC Tournament quarterfinal vs. Saint Mary's). It was Pepperdine's first 3OT game since December 14, 1991, and an 89-88 loss to Montana.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Lorenzo Romar said: "It's obviously a tough loss. We had our chances. You have to credit UCLA for making the plays at the end when we didn't. It's too bad that we weren't able to pull it out for a number of reasons, but it would have been good to enjoy a win like that while also celebrating
Colbey Ross becoming the program's all-time leading scorer."
UP NEXT
Pepperdine is scheduled to have its home opener on Wednesday (Dec. 2) against San Jose State at 5 p.m. The game will be shown via WaveCasts on the WCC Network with Al Epstein on the call.
