Led by junior forward Stacy Davis’ 22 points, all five starters for Pepperdine (1-0) netted double figures as the Waves got past the Bulldogs by a score of 89-74 in the season opener Friday night in Malibu, California.
In their opening possession, a jumper by forward Karachi Edo put the Bulldogs on the board but on the Waves’ following possession, freshman guard Shawn Olden would sink a shot from behind the arc to give his team the 3-2 lead and from then on Fresno State never led again.
“We didn’t play as a team,” Bulldogs head coach Rodney Terry said. “That’s really the disappointing part of it. We could not get defensive stops when we needed to. We have to be better than how we played tonight.”
With the Bulldogs (0-1) getting down by nearly 15 midway through the first half, they went on a 12-3 run late in the period to cut Pepperdine’s lead to single digits (41-35) heading into the locker room.
However, turnovers, inconsistent defense and foul trouble late in the game prevented Fresno State from completing the comeback. The Bulldogs trailed by double digits for a good amount of the game and got down by as much as 17 midway through the second period.
PU shot 56.9 percent from the field while the Bulldogs managed to shoot 47.5 percent.
Second-year guard Jeremy Major was second on the team, just behind Davis, as he contributed 21 points for the Waves including seven rebounds and three steals.
Junior guard Marvelle Harris led the Bulldogs with a game-high 25 points while shooting 10 of 18 from the field.
In his first game as a Bulldog, junior guard Julien Lewis, a new coming transfer from Texas, also got in double digits for Fresno State with 19 by shooting 8 of 15. Lewis was on the team last season but didn’t see any game action as he was forced to sit out in accordance with NCAA rules.
Junior guard Cezar Guerrero, a returning starter for Fresno State that averaged 13 points a game last year, did not see any action due to an administrative issue. Freshman Isaiah Bailey and senior Alex Davis also sat out but with injuries.
Coming up, the ‘Dogs will host Bristol University during their home opener on Monday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.