MALIBU, California – Colbey Ross sank three free throws in the final minute to break a tie and the Pepperdine men's basketball team posted its most impressive win of the season to date, beating NCAA Tournament hopeful BYU, 76-73, on Wednesday afternoon in West Coast Conference play.
 
The second half featured eight ties and nine lead changes as the Waves (7-7, 3-2) and Cougars (13-4, 4-2) battled for the second time in five days. This time, it was Pepperdine that earned the victory with a big finish.
 
Pepperdine overcame an 11-point second-half deficit and outscored the Cougars 44-36 after the break.
 
BIG WAVES

• Senior guard Colbey Ross (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest HS) had game highs of 19 points and six assists, plus seven rebounds. He went 11-for-13 from the foul line.
• Junior forward Kessler Edwards (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Etiwanda HS) had 18 points and six rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) scored 13 points off the bench, including a couple of huge second-half putbacks.
• Sophomore guard Sedrick Altman (Rialto, Calif./Colony HS) scored 11 points and had a career-high-tying nine rebounds.

KEY STATS 

• Pepperdine overcame a slow start shooting and shot 42.4% to BYU's 43.9%.
• The Waves committed fewer turnovers, just eight to the Cougars' 13.
• The rebounding margin was even (36 each) and the Waves had 11 offensive rebounds to the Cougars' seven.
• The Cougars had the lead for 28 minutes, the Waves just seven.
• BYU put four players into double-figures, led by Spencer Johnson's 15 points.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Waves never led in the first half, tying the game just twice at 2-2 and at 15-15, both after baskets by Altman. The Cougars went up by eight early at 11-3 and 13-5 before the Waves went on a 10-2 run to even the score. BYU maintained a small lead the rest of the half and went into the break with a 37-32 lead.
 
BYU opened up an 11-point lead early in the second half at 44-33. But the Waves responded with a 13-2 run, tying the game at 46 with under 13 minutes to play. Pepperdine took its first lead of the game at 49-48 with 12:14 to play after two free throws by Ross.
 
The lead bounced back and forth for the next seven minutes, but a 6-0 Pepperdine run capped off by an Edwards basket put the Waves ahead 71-66 with 3:34 left. However, BYU evened the game up with the next five points.
 
A possession that included three offensive rebounds finally ended with a Zidek putback, giving Pepperdine a 73-71 lead, but BYU immediately scored to tie the game with 55 seconds left.
 
Ross sank one of two free throws with 44 seconds left, and then at other end of the floor, made a steal. He was fouled and made two more free throws with 17 seconds left. BYU missed on a three-pointer on its next possession, and the Waves were eventually able to run out the clock.
 
NOTABLES 

• Ross edged closer to becoming the program's first 2,000-point scorer. He's now at 1,994 points.
• The Waves beat BYU for the first time since February 2017.
• On Saturday, the Cougars beat the Waves 65-54 in Provo.

UP NEXT
 
The Waves host #1 Gonzaga on Saturday (Jan. 30) at 5 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and there will also be an audio-only WaveCasts with Al Epstein at PepperdineWaves.com. Due to COVID-19 protocols, spectators will not be permitted.