Pepperdine Wins; Kentucky Is Next

Forward Eric White and guard Dwayne Polee scored 20 points apiece as Pepperdine handed Southern Methodist its first defeat of the season Friday night, 75-68 in overtime, in the opening round of the Kentucky Invitational tournament.

Pepperdine, winning its seventh straight game to improve to 7-1, will meet Kentucky, an 86-52 winner over East Carolina, in tonight’s championship game. SMU (6-1) will take on East Carolina in the consolation game.

“We came here to play Kentucky, and I’m sure our guys will rise to the occasion,” Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick said. “It’s an opportunity for us to really turn some heads.”

White gave Pepperdine the lead for good in overtime at 68-66 on an 18-foot shot with 3:02 left. The Waves added seven more points before SMU’s Kevin Lewis scored with four seconds left.

“I like the way we executed our offense in the overtime, particularly when we scored nine straight points,” Harrick said. “Once they got going, SMU shot the ball well, but they didn’t make the big shot when they needed it during overtime.”

Anthony Frederick added 11 points and Jon Korfas 10 for Pepperdine.

Center Terry Williams and Lewis each scored 20 points for Southern Methodist, followed by Butch Moore and Randy Jones with 10 apiece.

SMU battled back from a 17-point deficit in the first half to go up, 36-35, on John Colborne’s basket with 17:39 left.

“It was a strange game because we got up by 17 points early, and then we just quit playing,” Harrick said. “SMU got aggressive, and we got hesitant, and that is uncharacteristic of our club.”

After the teams had traded baskets, Frederick sank a free throw and Korfas and White made jump shots to give Pepperdine a 42-38 edge.

Pepperdine gradually increased its lead and appeared on the way to victory after Levy Middlebrooks sank a baseline jumper for a 56-49 lead at 5:34.

But SMU rallied to tie the game at 60-60 on Lewis’ three-point play with 2:27 to go.

Polee gave Pepperdine a 62-60 advantage with two free throws, then wasted a chance to put the game away by missing a bonus free throw with 30 seconds left.

After calling a timeout, SMU pulled even with nine seconds left on a basket by Jones. Pepperdine’s White missed a 25-footer as regulation time ran out.

Kentucky forward Kenny Walker scored 19 points, 16 in the first half, and guard James Blackmon added 18 as the Wildcats (6-1) crushed East Carolina (4-2).

Kentucky shot to a 13-4 lead on Roger Harden’s layup with 14:44 left in the first half, and the margin reached 18-8 on Blackmon’s free throw at 12:11.

But East Carolina, behind the shooting of forward Marchell Henry and guard Herb Dixon, charged back into the game, pulling within 22-20.

Walker then went to work for Kentucky, scoring its next 10 points as the Wildcats opened a 32-24 margin and led, 36-24, at halftime.