Pepperdine pulls away late to beat Portland 66-59

Colbey Ross scored 27 of his 30 points in the second half and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds as Pepperdine pulled away late to beat Portland 66-59 on Thursday night.

Pepperdine (15-13, 8-6 West Coast Conference) trailed 50-49 with about five minutes left. Kessler Edwards scored eight points that included back-to-back 3-pointers, and Ross added seven points during the Waves' 17-9 closing run.

Ross made four 3-pointers, was 8 of 20 from the floor and 10-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line. Edwards finished with 10 points.

Tahirou Diabate scored 12 points to lead Portland (9-19, 1-12), which has lost 11 straight games. Isaiah White, Chase Adams and Malcolm Porter added 10 points apiece.

Pepperdine plays at San Francisco on Saturday. Portland hosts Loyola Marymount on Saturday.