Pepperdine Comes Up Short Against Boise State

Pepperdine made a belated charge in the game’s final minutes but couldn’t catch Boise State and lost, 65-52, Saturday night to fall to 1-2.

Boise State held a 36-25 halftime lead and increased its advantage to 57-38 with 6:58 remaining before Pepperdine cut the lead to 61-52 with a minute remaining.

But Boise State sophomore guard Gerry Washington, from Brentwood High, made four free throws in the final 53 seconds to secure the victory. Washington scored 17 points to lead the Broncos (1-1) in their home opener. Washington made three of five three-point shots and six of six free throws.

“We hurt ourselves with too many mistakes, particularly the turnovers,” Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar said. “We continued to play hard, and cut a 19-point deficit late in the game, but it was too big of a hole.”

Pepperdine turned the ball over 24 times and made only 11 of 24 free throws.

Boise State, which lost its first game, 74-69, at Washington State, was without guard Joe Wyatt, its leading scorer last season. Wyatt began a three-game suspension for breaking team rules.

Guard R.J. Powell paced the Waves with 14 points, while forward Bryan Hill added 11.