LAS VEGAS (Interstat) — Jermaine Ballisager Webb scored 22 points and James O’Donnell added 16 as the Portland Pilots built a commanding early lead and held off a persistent Pepperdine Waves squad for a 77-68 victory in a West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament first-round game Thursday at Orleans Arena.

The Pilots, the designated home team, improved to 14-18 and advanced to face Washington State on Friday. Pepperdine’s season ended with a record of 9-23.

The most critical phase of the game was its opening ten minutes, where Portland established a double-digit lead that Pepperdine spent the remainder of the contest unsuccessfully trying to erase. The Pilots raced out to a 17-4 advantage behind a blistering start from Ballisager Webb, the 7-foot-1 sophomore from Denmark. He connected on two 3-pointers and assisted on a James O’Donnell layup in the game’s first three minutes, setting an aggressive tone.

Pepperdine, which shot poorly from the field throughout, struggled to find any offensive rhythm against Portland’s active defense. The Waves missed nine of their first 11 shot attempts and committed four early turnovers. A driving layup by Garrett Nuckolls with 17:13 left in the first half gave Portland its 13-point cushion at 17-4.

While Pepperdine’s Javon Cooley and Styles Phipps managed to spark brief responses, Portland consistently answered. Every Pepperdine push in the first half was met with a Pilot basket, often from Ballisager Webb or O’Donnell. When Nikola Radovanovic came off the Pepperdine bench to score five quick points and pull the Waves within 28-23, Portland closed the half on a 16-5 run. The spurt was capped by a Cameron Williams layup and a James O’Donnell score in the final minute, sending the Pilots into halftime with a 44-38 lead they would not relinquish.

The second half followed a similar pattern. Pepperdine, led by Cooley’s 15 points and Phipps’s 11 points and seven assists, would chip the deficit down to six or eight points, only for Portland to execute a key play to restore order. A pivotal sequence occurred with just over seven minutes remaining. After Pepperdine’s Yonatan Levy hit a 3-pointer to cut the Portland lead to 66-63, Ballisager Webb immediately responded with a deep 3-pointer on the next possession, assisted by Nuckolls. On the ensuing Pepperdine trip, Ballisager Webb swatted away a Stefan Cicic layup attempt, preserving the six-point margin and effectively halting the Waves’ momentum.

Pepperdine never got closer than five points the rest of the way. Portland sealed the game at the free-throw line, with Nuckolls and Ballisager Webb combining to make three of four attempts in the final minute. A final O’Donnell layup with 1:22 left provided the final margin.

Ballisager Webb’s efficient 22 points came on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, and he added two blocks in 29 minutes. O’Donnell, the 6-foot-10 forward from Australia, was a force inside, making 8 of his 12 shots. Nuckolls facilitated the offense with six assists to go with nine points, while Dante Censori-Hercules contributed eight points and five assists.

For Pepperdine, Cooley was the primary offensive option but needed 17 shots to score his 15 points. Phipps directed the offense but also committed six turnovers. The Waves shot just 38% from the field as a team and were outrebounded by the larger Pilots lineup.

The game, played before an announced crowd of 1,242, was a rubber match after the teams split their two regular-season meetings. Portland’s victory avenged a 95-87 home loss to the Waves just over two weeks prior. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Portland entered with a 59.2% probability to win and covered the pregame spread of 3.5 points. The total score of 145 fell under the over/under line of 152.5.

Portland now looks to continue its tournament run, while Pepperdine concludes a difficult season that saw them finish with 23 losses.