MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine men's basketball team went cold late in the second half and in overtime, and Utah Valley escaped Firestone Fieldhouse with an 86-74 victory on Monday night.
 
The Waves (1-2) led by 12 with 10 1/2 minutes left, but the Wolverines (2-1) eventually scored the final six points of regulation, including a three-pointer with a second and a half left, to send the game to overtime. In the extra frame, Utah Valley scored the first eight points and outscored the Waves 15-3.
 
BIG WAVES

• Freshman guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) scored 18 of his team-high 21 points in the first half. He made his first eight shots, and finished 5-for-6 on three-pointers. He also had four rebounds and two blocks.
• Junior forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) made four three-pointers and scored 16 points.
• Senior guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) recorded his third career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, plus four assists.
• Senior center Victor Ohia Obioha (Owerri, Nigeria/Hillcrest HS) had 10 points and seven rebounds.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
Utah Valley jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three minutes, but a three-pointer by freshman guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) later gave Pepperdine its first lead at 13-11. Mallette scored all eight points in an 8-0 run to give the Waves a 21-14 lead. He went coast-to-coast for a lay-up to give Pepperdine its biggest lead of the half at 32-21. Utah Valley scored six straight to make it 37-33, but Mallette hit a jumper to make it 39-33 at the break.
 
Utah Valley closed the gap to one point early in the second half, but the Waves grew the lead to their largest of the game at 12 points after a dunk by graduate transfer forward Keith Fisher III (Los Angeles, Calif./Illinois State), making it 60-48 with 11:42 to play. A Zidek basket made it 12 again at 62-50 with 10:58 left.
 
The Waves would only make three three-pointers the rest of regulation. Utah Valley outscored Pepperdine 21-9 over the final 10 1/2 minutes. A Smith three-pointer had the Waves ahead by six at 71-65 with 1:46 left, but the Wolverines scored the next six points, including a fall-away three-pointer by Connor Harding with a little more than a second left to tie the contest.
 
Harding had five points as Utah Valley began OT with an 8-0 run. The Waves only got three free throws from Smith in the extra frame.
 
KEY STATS 

• The Waves were outshot 50.8% to 41.3%. Pepperdine went from shooting 60.9% in the first half to 30.0% in the second half and overtime.
• Utah Valley went 9-for-15 (60.0%) from beyond the arc, while the Waves were 11-for-27 (40.7%).
• The Wolverines had a 21-12 edge in points off turnovers, and 42-20 in the paint.
• Utah Valley was led by Fardaws Aimaq, who had 34 points and 14 rebounds.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine closes out its homestand against UC Davis on Wednesday (Nov. 17) at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network. Ticket information and COVID-19 entry policies for Firestone Fieldhouse can be found here.