MALIBU, Calif. ­— Freshman guard Keion Bell scored a season-high 23 points but the Pepperdine men’s basketball team suffered a 79-72 overtime loss to Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Roadrunners (3-2) overcame a 16-point deficit in the second half and got two big three-pointers in overtime from Bryan Emanuel. The Waves (1-5) were handed their fifth straight loss.

Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Pasadena HS) also shared the team high in rebounds with freshman forward Taylor Darby (San Marcos, Calif./Mission Hills HS), as both grabbed eight. Freshman guard Lorne Jackson (Simi Valley, Calif./Simi Valley HS) also had a season high with 17 points.

The Roadrunners got 15 points apiece from Trent Blakley and Donald Lee. Lee also pulled down 13 rebounds. Emanuel had 14 points and made four three-pointers.

Pepperdine shot a blistering 51.9% in the first half but finished the game at 39.1%. CSUB finished at 33.3% shooting, but was 4-for-7 (57.1%) in the overtime period. The Roadrunners committed eight fewer turnovers (14 to 22), which led to a 22-13 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Waves got off to a good start, jumping out to a 14-7 lead with 13:45 to play after sophomore forward Mychel Thompson (Ladera Ranch, Calif./Stoneridge Prep) nailed a jumper from the free throw line.

But just like that, Pepperdine went cold, hitting just one field goal over the next eight minutes. That allowed Cal State Bakersfield to take a 19-16 lead after Blakley’s jump shot with 7:02 to play.

Bell sank a three-pointer with 5:40 left to end the drought and tie the game at 19-19. That woke up the Waves, who outscored the Roadrunners 20-7 in the final six minutes to go into halftime with a 36-26 lead. Bell had one of the highlights during the run, hitting a leaning jumper from the left side. He drew a foul and made the free throw for the traditional three-point play.

The Waves scored the first four points of the second half as Bell followed his own miss to score, and sophomore forward Jonathan Dupre' (Houston, Texas/Marshall HS) converted on the fast break to make it 40-26. Later on, Jackson made a lay-up, was fouled and hit the free throw to extend the lead to its biggest of the game at 48-32 with 15:21 left.

Pepperdine led 50-36 with less than 13 minutes to play, but like the first half, the Waves went through an extended cold spell. The Waves didn’t score again for more than five minutes, the Roadrunners went on a 12-0 run and pulled to within 50-48 before freshman center Corbin Moore (Cypress, Calif./Los Alamitos HS) ended the streak with an offensive rebound and putback at 8:12.

Still, CSUB went on another 7-0 run and took their first lead of the game at 53-52 with 7:40 to go on Lee’s basket. A dunk by Lee made the score 55-52 in the Roadrunners’ favor.

Another three-point play by Pepperdine’s Jackson tied the game at 55-55, but Blakley’s three pointer put Cal State Bakersfield back up 58-55 with less than six minutes to play.

Pepperdine eventually tied the game again at 63-63 with 2:07 left after two free throws by sophomore center Denis Agre (Sofia, Bulgaria/Central Arizona JC). Both teams failed to score on their next two possessions apiece. On their final possession, the Roadrunners missed their first three-point attempt, and on their second, Pepperdine’s Darby blocked Patrick Carlson’s three-point shot.

In the overtime period, Emanuel’s first three-pointer gave CSUB a 68-65 lead, and his second from the right baseline was a dagger that put the Roadrunners up 73-67 with 1:35 left. The Waves got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Of the 10 players that saw action for the Waves, eight were freshmen or sophomores, and seven weren’t on the roster last year. The Waves played their second game without Ryan Holmes (Phoenix, Ariz./Millennium HS/Phoenix CC), their starting point guard and one of just three seniors, who is sidelined by a knee injury.

The Waves next play at Long Beach State on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at 7 p.m. Subscribers to “Wave Casts” at www.pepperdinesports.com can listen to Al Epstein’s call of the action.