MALIBU, Calif.—In a game that saw 10 ties and 15 lead changes, San Diego dropped a tough contest in the final seconds at Pepperdine Saturday afternoon, 70-67.
With the game tied 64-64 with 1:15 remaining,
Olin Carter III hit a clutch three-pointer to give the Toreros (16-9, 5-5 WCC) the lead, 67-64. A USD foul outside the arc on the other end of the floor sent Pepperdine's Colbey Ross to the line for three with eight seconds remaining in the contest.
Ross made the first and missed the next two but USD was called for a foul on the rebound, that sent Pepperdine (12-13, 5-6 WCC) back to the line for two more chances. After making the first to pull within one, 66-67, the Waves collected a pivotal offensive rebound on the missed second free-throw and landed the put-back with 2 seconds remaining to secure the lead and ultimately the win.
Isaiah Wright scored a team-high 14 points and also led the Toreros with seven assists.
Isaiah Pineiro got into foul trouble early on, but still managed to collect his ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds, adding three assists.
Freshman
Finn Sullivan saw significant minutes off the bench and recorded a new career-high 11 points in the contest. Carter and
Yauhen Massalski chipped in eight points and seven points respectively and
Tyler Williams added five rebounds.
Ross led Pepperdine with 19 points and 10 assists, while three other Waves reached double-digit scoring.
The Toreros pressured the Waves on the defensive end all day, finishing with 10 steals, three blocks and collecting 23 points off of turnovers.
The Waves went 10-of-25 from three-point land and held the advantage in rebounds 37-29 including nine offensive boards.
The Toreros return to the JCP next week for four-straight at home, beginning with BYU on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT before playing host to Gonzaga on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
