Box Score

Pilots Drop Game at Pepperdine, Settle for Road Split

MALIBU, Calif. ---Portland led the entire first half, but a big second half burst from Pepperdine led the Waves to a 76-65 victory in West Coast Conference action Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse. Junior guard Kevin Bailey led all scorers with 27 points for the Pilots (11-8, 3-4 WCC).

The Waves (12-8, 5-3) shot 65 percent from the field in the second period and outscored the Pilots 46-31 after the break. Rebounding was also a key factor as Pepperdine gained a 40-27 margin for the game.

Senior forward Ryan Nicholas joined Bailey in double figures with 14 points and seven rebounds. Portland only committed nine turnovers on the evening, but was outscored 36-24 in the paint.

Freshman guard Lamond Murray, Jr. paced the Waves with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. The Waves finished with a 32-11 edge in bench points.

Sophomore forward Stacy Davis added 14 points, 11 coming in the second half, and also grabbed eight rebounds. Malcolm Brooks and Jeremy Major chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Bailey had a big first half with 15 points as the Pilots led by as much as eight points. Nicholas hit a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give Portland a 34-30 lead at the break.

Pepperdine opened the second half with a 17-6 run and would maintain the lead until the final buzzer. A Bryce Pressley three-pointer cut the deficit to 56-51 with 7:06 remaining, but Portland not get any closer.

Portland will return to the Chiles Center for a pair of home games next week and tickets are still available. The Pilots host BYU on Thursday at 7 p.m. and San Diego on Saturday at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be free for kids 6^th grade and younger and have a special 2-for-1 ticket offer. Visit PortlandPilots.com for more information.

GIF Highlights:
















Kevin Bailey finished with a game-high 27 points, scoring in a variety of ways all game. He had 15 points in the first half, including two early threes to give UP an eight point lead.
















Ryan Nicholas had 14 points and seven rebounds, and picked up two points on this beautiful backdoor pass from Volodomyr Gerun.
















This big three pointer by Bryce Pressley cut the Pepperdine lead to five with seven minutes left, but the Pilots could get no closer as the Waves slowly pulled away.
















After Thomas van der Mars picked up two fouls in the first four minutes, Riley Barker came off the bench to give the Pilots a lift with four points and three rebounds.