Final Stats

USD vs PEP Jan 7

Malibu, Calif. - The Toreros earned their first WCC win with today's impressive 76-68 victory over the Pepperdine Waves. Sophomore guard Tyler Williams scored a career-high 20 points and received help from Olin Carter III (16 points) and Cameron Neubauer (14 points). Freshman Juwan Gray notched a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds to help with USD's balanced scoring attack. The Toreros (8-8, 1-3 WCC) found their shooting touch making 48.2% from the field and 42.9% beyond the arc (9-21).

"I thought we played well offensively, and in the second half we locked in defensively," said head coach Lamont Smith. "I thought everyone that played today gave us some great minutes. Tyler (Williams) has quietly been one of our most consistent performers this season, and I'm happy for him, and for the team for today's performance. And Juwan (Gray) gave us a big outing with his 14 rebounds and 11 points."

In the first half Olin Carter III opened the game with a three-pointer from the right side for an early 3-0 lead, but behind 5 points from Chris Reyes the Waves pulled ahead 9-6 by the 16 minute media timeout. Carter would make his next two treys as well in pushing the Toreros to a 12-9 advantage at the 14:41 mark. Back-to-back inside buckets from Carter and Tyler Williams, along with two free throws from Williams, would extend USD's lead to 18-12 with 11:59 to go.

A Lamond Murray Jr. three-point play put the Waves up 24-23, but Williams connected on his third straight bucket for the Toreros to get the lead back at 27-24. Williams would keep the hot hand in making his next two treys, a run of six straight makes, in pushing USD to a 33-29 advantage with 3:09 to go. Williams would finish the half 6-for-7 from the field and his 16 points would match his career-high as the Toreros took a 37-36 lead into the break. Olin Carter III would chip in with 13 points. The Toreros, who were just 4-25 from beyond the arc against Pacific, were a solid 7-for-13 at the break. Pepperdine was paced by Lamond Murray Jr. with 15 points.

In the second half both teams would trade baskets before Cameron Neubauer connected on a three from the top and then Juwan Gray slammed down a thunderous dunk to make it 44-38 with 18:40 left. A Bailey free throw, Gray bucket and Nassir Barrino jumper would cap off a 10-0 run by the Toreros for a 49-38 lead. The Toreros would go up 13 four times, the last time at 58-45 with 9:04 to go off a Gray driving lay-in.

Pepperdine would cut the deficit to single digits when Reyes converted a three-point play to make it 59-51 with 8:08 left. Frank Ryder would make key plays as he collected a loose ball in the key and put it back in with 7:25 left, and would then follow with an offensive rebound tip-in bucket at 6:31 to make it 63-51. The closest Pepperdine would get down the stretch is 10 points until the closing seconds when Reyes connected on a three-ball with 4 ticks left for the final 76-68 score.

For the game the Toreros owned the boards in out-rebounding the Waves 40-27. USD also dished out 17 assists on their 27 baskets. In scoring his career-high 20 points, Williams was 7-for-10 from the field. Pepperdine received 23 points from Lamond Murray Jr.

USD returns to the JCP next week for WCC home games against Santa Clara (Jan. 12, 7 pm) and BYU (Jan. 14, 7 pm).