MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - Colbey Ross tallied 19 points and 10 assists as Pepperdine narrowly defeated San Diego 70-67 on Saturday. Kessler Edwards added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Waves, and Kameron Edwards chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Twice in the final 8 seconds Pepperdine rebounded its own missed free throw and the extra possessions led to the winning points. The first time, trailing 67-66 with 8 seconds remaining, Jade Smith rebounded Ross’s intentionally missed free throw and Smith was fouled by USD’s Finn Sullivan. Smith made the first free throw, and, with a chance to tie the game, missed the second. However, the rebound was tipped outside, where Smith grabbed it. He passed to Ross who flipped it to Kessler Edwards who made the go-ahead bank shot at the rim.
USD’s ensuing inbounds pass was deflected out of bounds off a San Diego player, Ross was fouled when Pepperdine inbounded and he made both free throws for the final margin.
Ross made 14 of 16 from the free throw line.
Eric Cooper Jr. had 10 points for Pepperdine (12-13, 5-6 West Coast Conference).
Isaiah Wright had 14 points and seven assists for the Toreros (16-9, 5-5). Isaiah Pineiro added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sullivan had 11 points.
The Waves improve to 2-0 against the Toreros for the season. Pepperdine defeated San Diego 76-71 on Jan. 12.
Pepperdine plays San Francisco on the road on Thursday. San Diego takes on Brigham Young at home on Thursday.
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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
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