Pepperdine Rallies at Portland

Kelvin Gibbs scored 16 points, including eight during a 14-1 run, to lift Pepperdine to a 75-68 victory over Portland on Saturday night.

Nick Sheppard added 14 points, 12 in the first half, and a season-high 11 rebounds for the Waves (17-6, 7-1 West Coast Conference). It was their ninth win in 10 games.

Ryan Jones led the Pilots (8-13, 2-6) with 23 points. Bryan Mills had a career-high 17 points for Portland, which has lost four of five games.

Brandon Armstrong, who scored 12 points, started the 14-1 run by tying the game with a 17-footer with 11:33 left. Gibbs’ only three-pointer and a free throw by Tezale Archie with 6:17 left gave the Waves a 66-55 lead.

The Pilots went on a 6-0 run with Jones’ layup with 3:45 left, closing the gap to 66-61.

Tommie Prince hit a three-pointer from the corner at 1:56 to give Pepperdine a 69-61 lead, but Jones, who had nine points in the first half, tipped in a rebound with 1:34 left to make it 69-63.

David Lalazarian finished with 10 points in 16 minutes as four Pepperdine players ended up in double figures.

Portland led for much of the first half after Pepperdine started three of 13 from the field, but the Waves held a 35-34 halftime lead.