Pepperdine Beats Depleted Chicago State, 75-72

Pepperdine managed to pick up a nonconference win Tuesday night against Chicago State, but it was not state-of-the-art basketball by either team.

The Waves (6-11 overall) edged the Cougars, 75-72, before 1,034 fans at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu.

Chicago State (8-8) hobbled into the game with 7 of its 11 regulars suffering from illness or injuries and without floor leader Shawn Balark, who is out for the season with an injured knee.

The Cougars, who shot 27% in the first half and 38% (28 of 74) for the game, were playing the fourth game of a nine-game trip. They had been routed by highly ranked Pittsburgh in their last game.

Pepperdine’s regulars, by contrast, have been healthy--except for the poor shooting that has plagued them for much of the season. The Waves shot 41.4% (24 of 58) but only 35% in the first half. And they had 17 turnovers, which is about their season average.

If it hadn’t been for the inside shooting of Levy Middlebrooks, who scored a career-high 24 points, and the outside shooting of Craig Davis, who added 12, Pepperdine might not have been in the game.

Middlebrooks, who also had a game-high 12 rebounds, connected on 8 of 15 shots from the field and 8 of 9 from the foul line. Davis hit 5 of 10 shots from the field, including 2 of 4 three-pointers.

Pepperdine top scorer Eric White, who has been in a slump, continued to shoot poorly but finished with 18 points. In the first half, White missed all six of his shots. He was 5 of 14 for the game and 8 of 12 from the foul line.

The Waves fell behind, 4-0, at the outset, but behind 9 points from Davis (including a three-pointer) they outscored Chicago State, 16-2, about six minutes into the game. The Cougars cut the lead to 27-24 at halftime, then tied it at 34 with about four minutes gone in the second half on Tyrone Dowd’s basket on a goaltending call against Pepperdine.

Pepperdine moved out to its biggest lead, 68-57, with 5:11 left in the game. But a dunk by Willie James brought the Cougars within 73-70 with 27 seconds left. White hit two free throws with 24 seconds remaining for the Waves’ final points.

Stanley Jones led the Cougars with 21 points, 17 in the second half. Dowd had 18 points and James 15.