Pepperdine 53, Howard 45

Junior forward Stacy Davis recorded a double-double to lead the Pepperdine Waves to a 53-45 victory over the Howard Bison in the second round of the Gotham Classic on Wednesday evening at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.

Davis had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Pepperdine (7-2), which is off to its best start through nine games since the 2004-05 season. Sophomore guard Amadi Udenyi had 16 points and six assists for the Waves.

Junior forward James Carlton scored a game-high 22 points for Howard (6-7), which has lost three of its last four games. Sophomore guard James Daniel had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Howard jumped out to a 5-0 lead over the first three minutes, but Pepperdine answered with a 10-0 run. The Waves maintained a slight lead until Daniel made two free throws to tie the game at 21-21 with 3:50 to play in the opening period.

Pepperdine ended the half with a 7-2 run to take a 28-23 lead at the break. The Waves extended their lead to 36-27 on a pair of free throws by Davis with 14:58 remaining in the second half, but the Bison rallied to cut the deficit to 36-35 on a free throw by Carlton with 10:02 to go.

Howard trailed 44-43 after Daniel made a 3-pointer with 3:22 to play, but the Waves outscored the Bison 9-2 over the final 2:49.