Pepperdine defeats San Diego on late shot, 70-67

February 9, 2019

Kessler Edwards scored the go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds left to cap an incredible late rally in the final 10 seconds, lifting the Pepperdine men’s basketball team to a 70-67 win over San Diego in West Coast Conference play on Saturday.

After San Diego’s Olin Carter III knocked down a three-pointer with 19 seconds left to put the Toreros ahead 67-64, the Waves made two of five free throws on their next possession. Twice, however, Pepperdine's Jade’ Smith grabbed offensive rebounds, the second one leading to Edwards’ go-ahead score.

“Obviously it’s a huge win," said Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar.  "That’s a good basketball team. Perseverance was the key word today. We had some bad breaks at times and we didn’t take care of the basketball. But we persevered and fought.”

Three Waves – Edwards brothers Kessler and Kameron, and sophomore guard Colbey Ross – had double-doubles.  Ross had game highs of 19 points and 10 assists, as the nation’s most prolific free throw shooter went 14-for-16 from the line.

San Diego had three players score in double-figures, led by Isaiah Wright’s 14 points.

Pepperdine outshot USD 42.9% to 39.7%, and made 10-for-25 three-pointers.

The game was even at 64 entering the final minute, and Carter III broke the tie with his three-pointer with 19 seconds left. On the next possession, Ross was fouled shooting a three-pointer with eight seconds to go. He made the first, but missed the second. He purposefully missed the third foul shot, and Smith was in the right place to grab the rebound,

Smith was fouled on the rebound, sending him to the line with another chance to tie the game. He made the first free throw, and though he missed the second, he went and got the rebound again. Ross then fed the ball down low to Kessler Edwards, who scored on the left block to put the Waves ahead 68-67 with 2.5 seconds left.

USD threw the ball the length of the court, and after a review, it was determined that it was last touched by a Torero before the ball went out of bounds. Ross hit two free throws with a second left to account for the final margin.

With the win, Pepperdine improved to 12-13 overall, 5-6 in the WCC, and swept the season series from San Diego (16-9, 5-5).

The Waves will head out on the road for the next three games, including an upcoming Northern California trip to San Francisco (Thursday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m.) and Saint Mary’s (Saturday, Feb. 16, 8 p.m.).

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services

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