MALIBU, Calif. | Kenny Strawbridge (Rockford, Ill.) and Gerald Liddell (Cibolo, Texas) scored in double figures for Alabama State who jumped out to an early lead, but it wasn't enough as Pepperdine used a second half run to pull away from the Hornets for a 79-62 victory at Firestone Fieldhouse Sunday afternoon.

Strawbridge led Alabama State with a double-double, scoring 16 points (7-of-14) shooting and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Liddell added 14 points and recorded a pair of steals. Isaiah Range (Cedar Hill, Texas) added nine points and seven rebounds for Alabama State (1-9) who finished the night shooting 36.9 (24-of-65) percent from the floor. They were held to just 25 (4-of-16) percent from beyond the arc and 58.8 (10-of-17) percent from the free throw line.

The Hornets jumped on top of Pepperdine early in the first half, going on an 11-0 run that tied the game up and then pushed Alabama State ahead 16-8 with 12:03 to play in the half. They would push the lead to as many as 10 at 22-12 with nine minutes left on a pair of free throws from Strawbridge. However, Pepperdine went on a 19-4 run over a span of six minutes to take a 31-26 lead with 2:44 to play in the half.

Alabama State was able to get back to within one at 33-32 on a put back from Range before the Wave hit a three and held on for a two-point lead at the break.

Pepperdine (4-8) used a 22-6 run in the second to pull away for the final margin after shooting 52.7 (29-of-55) percent from the floor and 41.7 (10-of-24) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 73.3 (11-of-15) percent from the free throw line.

Houston Mallatte led Pepperdine with a game-high 24 points, pacing four players in double figures including Jan Zidek who finished with 16.

UP NEXT
The Hornets return to action Wednesday night on the road against No. 4 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The game is scheduled to tip at 8 pm (PT) and will be carried by the PAC-12 Network.

QUOTES from head coach Mo Williams
"We competed. Obviously, it's always tough on the road by the effort we came out with, sticking to the game plan. You have to give them (Pepperdine) credit, they are a good basketball team, they are young, and they have some talent and they had guys step up to make plays. But I thought we came out and competed, and we forced them to play and make some plays to pull away from us."

"The more we can be consistent running the offense and sticking to the plan, the more we can put more minutes together. We can put 20 minutes together and not have those lulls in there, but we aren't quite there yet. I told the guys that we can get better with this type of effort and this type of showing into the next game. We have three more games left before we get started in SWAC play, and we want to be clicking on all cylinders at that point."

"The crowd being here means something to us, it actually means something. I am telling you it gives you a different energy when you get that support from your fan base. It is unexplainable. We appreciate all the love that we had today out here. Pepperdine is different from Pauley Pavilion, but we can hear them here. They will still be in the building at UCLA, just probably won't be able to hear them as much."

"I don't think we have to get the guys ready for that game (UCLA). The guys know if you aren't focused and ready to play, it will be over quick. We will be ready to play."

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