MALIBU, Calif. " The No. 9 Pepperdine men's water polo team fell just short in a non-conference matchup with UC Santa Barbara on Thursday night. Marko Asic had three goals, including one with 11 seconds left in the game.

WAVES 8, UCSB 9

Box Score

‪In the fourth and final quarter, Asic (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) scored two of his three goals, keeping the Waves just one goal back with 11 seconds left, however, the clock was not on the Waves' side, as the game ended before the Waves could net another. Mate Toth (‬Balatonalmadi, Hungary/Szilagyi Erzsebet Boarding School‪) also had a goal in the fourth quarter to keep the Waves within striking distance. ‬

‪The first half of the game was a back and forth half, with the Waves and Gauchos trading goals. The Gauchos ended up taking a 6-3 advantage into the half. Asic, Mark Urban (Budapest, Hungary/Diablo Valley College), and George Mooney (‬Whittier, Calif./La Serna HS) ‪scored for the Waves in the first half. Toth got his first of two goals in the third quarter, along with Chris Dilworth (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks HS‪) while Zach Rhodes (Palm Desert, Calif./Palm Desert HS) kept the Gauchos scoreless in the third. ‬Rhodes would have 10 total saves on the night.

STATS

‪SCORING: PEPP—2—1—2—3—8 ; UCSB—3—3—0—3—9 ‬

‪GOALS: PEPP— Asic 3, Toth 2, Dilworth, Mooney, Urban ; UCSB— Gvozdanovic 2, Jovanovic 2, Lott 2, Brosnan, Cotterill, Jordan‬

‪SAVES: PEPP—Rhodes 10 ; UCSB—Barrios 13‬

UP NEXTE

The Waves' next game is Saturday, Oct.7 against No. 2 UCLA. Saturday, the team and university will also be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 1997 National Championship Team. The team will be recognized during the game against UCLA, followed by the annual alumni game. To stay up-to-date on all things Pepperdine water polo, make sure to follow the team both on Facebook and Twitter (@PeppWaterPolo).