San Jose, CA – In a Saturday evening contest between schools from the West Coast and Mountain West conferences, Pepperdine came in riding a four-game winning wave while San Jose State tried to end their eight-game losing streak. SJSU controlled the tempo early in the game, and led for 37:21 of the 40 minutes in their 83-68 win.
6-2 senior guard Brae Ivey made a 3-pointer at the 17:21 mark of the first half giving SJSU a 8-5 lead which they never relinquished as the Spartans went into the half with a 42-32 lead. Ivey doubled his season scoring average by halftime pouring in 14 of his career high of 23 points. The right handed point guard displayed touch, good form, and a solid all-around game. He shot 8-of-13 from the field including 5-of-8 from long distance. He added seven rebounds, three assists with zero turnovers. SJSU had two other players score in double-figures including the team’s leading scorer 6-6 sophomore Senecca Knight with 12 points while Omari Moore also scored 12-points. Ralph Agee and Christian Anigwe complimented the balanced scoring attack with nine and eight points respectively.
Pepperdine’s 6-6 senior forward Kameron Edward led the Waves in scoring in a variety of ways with his strong drives to the basket, free throws, and one made 3-pointer. 6-8 sophomore forward Kessler Edward showed flashes of promise with his speed, athleticism, length and shot blocking presence. He finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and four blocks. 6-6 junior forward Sylar Chavez (13 points) was efficient and solid with his play. He has an aggressive drive to the basket with athleticism and can shoot the three (3-of-4) in transition or in the half court offense. 6-1 junior guard Colby Ross, who ranks fifth nationally in total assists (104) a 7.4 average, didn’t quite play his best game. He still finished with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting to go with 11 assists and four rebounds but committed seven turnovers. Ross has good hesitation moves going left or right off pick and roll sets, and is capable of dropping floaters from 10-12 feet.
SJSU (4-10), hosts New Mexico (12-2) on January 1st while Pepperdine (7-7) hosts Pacific (12-4) on January 2nd.
This article was written by Lorenzo Leaks, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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