Pepperdine Has No Shot in Loss

Pepperdine opened the season Wednesday in forgettable fashion.

The Waves made only 20.6% of their shots in the second half and fell to East Carolina, 80-58, in the Black Coaches Assn. Invitational at Raleigh, N.C.

East Carolina outscored Pepperdine, 47-19, after the break.

The Pirates played without center Moussa Badiane, who was suspended for one game because he played in a summer league that wasn’t certified by the NCAA. He had 239 blocked shots in his first three seasons, 53 behind the Conference USA record set by Cincinnati’s Kenyon Martin.

East Carolina finished with a flurry as Corey Rouse got loose for powerful dunks on consecutive possessions. After the second one, Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal called a timeout and cleared his bench.

The Waves struggled from three-point range, making only four of 22 tries. East Carolina was nine of 17 from three-point range.

Freshman point guard Kingsley Costain had 15 points for Pepperdine, which plays Siena today. Costain had 12 of his points in the first half as the Waves built a 39-33 advantage.

Mike Cook scored a career-high 21 points for East Carolina.

No. 19 North Carolina State 92, New Orleans 58 -- Julius Hodge had 21 points at Raleigh, N.C., as the Wolfpack opened with a BCA Invitational victory over the Privateers

New Orleans is coached by former North Carolina State standout Monte Towe, who helped lead the Wolfpack to the 1974 NCAA championship. Two of Towe’s teammates, David Thompson and Tommy Burleson, sat behind the scorer’s table.

The Wolfpack will play Elon, which defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 73-59, today.

Oregon State 69, Siena 67 -- Freshman Sasa Cuic’s three-point play with four seconds left gave the Beavers a victory over the Saints in a first-round game of the BCA Invitational at Raleigh, N.C.

After J.S. Nash’s basket brought Oregon State within one, Siena’s Kojo Mensah dribbled the ball off his foot for a turnover, setting the stage for Cuic’s heroics. The Beavers play East Carolina today.

Michigan 69, Colorado 60 -- Dion Harris scored 24 points and Lester Abram added 12 to lead the Wolverines (2-0) past the Buffaloes (1-1) in the second round of the preseason National Invitation Tournament at Ann Arbor, Mich.

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WOMEN

Jacqueline Batteast scored 17 points, including 10 during a decisive three-minute run in the second half, to lead No. 11 Notre Dame (3-0) to a 76-65 victory over No. 6 Duke (2-1) in a National Invitation Tournament semifinal at South Bend, Ind.... Caity Matter made four three-point shots and scored 20 points to lead No. 10 Ohio State (3-0) to a 78-45 victory over Arizona (2-1) in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes will play at Notre Dame in the NIT championship Saturday.