Cal Poly SLO Stuns Waves in Overtime : College basketball: Division II Mustangs shoot 56% in beating Pepperdine, 76-72.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, playing more like a good Division I team than an excellent Division II club, upset Pepperdine, 76-72, in overtime before 1,079 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu on Saturday.

The Mustangs (9-1) made 11 of 25 three-point shots (44%) and shot 56% overall as Pepperdine dropped to 6-4.

Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury, asked if his team had taken the Mustangs lightly, said:

“We tried not to. I don’t know. The way we’re playing, I don’t think we can take anyone lightly.

“We’re in a real funk right now, and we need to get it sorted out in a hurry.”

The Mustangs apparently had sorted out matters well ahead of time. Said Cal Poly Coach Steve Beason: “One thing we talked about before the game was not necessarily that we would win, but that we could win. And I think our guys believed they could.”

Added Cal Poly guard Greg Paulson, who made all four of his three-point shots and finished with 12 points: “We’ve been playing really well as a team, and we knew that if we came out and played hard we’d have a shot at it. We knew they’re really a good team, and we were fired up.”

Pepperdine, which made only six of 24 three-point shots (25%) and shot 43% overall, fell behind early and struggled to a 39-34 halftime lead.

The Mustangs took their first lead of the second half, 58-56, on a three-point shot by Paulson with 5:44 remaining.

The lead changed hands twice before Bill Arthur, who scored 14 points, sank an 18-foot jump shot. That tied the score, 63-63, with 1:10 to play in regulation.

Neither team was able to score after that, and the game went into overtime.

The Mustangs scored the first eight points in overtime, and Pepperdine couldn’t catch up.

Shawn Kirkeby led Cal Poly with 22 points. Pepperdine’s Doug Christie scored a game-high 23 points, but was only two for eight on three-point shots and nine for 24 overall.