BOX SCORE
NEW ORLEANS – Trailing by eight at the half, the University of New Orleans (2-2, 0-0 Southland) cut Pepperdine's (3-2, 0-0 WCC) lead to a single point late in the second half before falling 90-79 on Tuesday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Privateers cut the Waves' lead to four on three different occasions early in the second half: following a 3-pointer from
Coleton Benson with 15:19 to play, and a pair of 3-pointers from
Enzo Boudouma with 11:02 and 8:20 remaining. Pepperdine answered each time with quick scoring bursts seemingly stifling the any Privateer second-half momentum.
Jakevion Buckley took the ball away from Aaron Clark but missed his floater coming from left to right. The senior grabbed his own rebound and fed Benson on the right wing for a 3-pointer that made it 71-69 Pepperdine with just under five minutes to play.
Javon Cooley answered with a jumper before Buckley's crossover into a step-back 17-footer drew a foul from Styles Phipps. Buckley made the ensuing free throw to cut it to 73-72 Pepperdine with 3:25 left. UNO made just one of eight shots down the final stretch as Pepperdine pulled away for the 11-point victory.
Panagiotis Pagonis finished with a career-high 17 points, all in the first half. The "Athens Assassin" hit three key 3-pointers in the opening frame to keep the Privateers within reach. Benson finished with 17 points and a career-high six assists; 15 of his points came in the second half, along with all four of his 3-pointers.
MJ Thomas had a team-high 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. Buckley added 15 points and five assists. New Orleans won the rebounding battle 40-35 and had more offensive boards than the nation's leading offensive rebounding team.
Pepperdine entered averaging more than 18 offensive rebounds per game but managed only 11 on Tuesday night.
Cooley finished with 23 points for Pepperdine, including a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. Danilo Dozic added 21 points and four 3s. Phipps posted 14 points and 11 assists. Pepperdine forced 17 turnovers while committing only six.
UP NEXT
New Orleans remains in California for a Friday night matchup against the Fresno State Bulldogs. The game will air for free on the Mountain West Network, and on the Privateer Sports Network on 106.1 Heaven FM.
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