HOUSTON, Texas – Houston Mallette and
Mike Mitchell Jr. had impressive freshman debuts, but the Pepperdine men's basketball team suffered a season-opening 82-63 loss at Rice on Tuesday night.
It was a one-point game at halftime but the Owls (1-0) outscored the Waves (0-1) 46-28 after the break.
BIG WAVES
- Freshman guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) had a team-high 18 points. He made five three-pointers and also posted six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
- Freshman guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) accumulated 11 points, six rebounds and five assists. He sank three three-pointers.
- Junior forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) had eight points and six rebounds.
PLAY BY PLAY
A back-and-forth first half that saw 10 lead changes and eight ties resulted in a 36-35 lead for the Owls. After falling behind by five early, Mitchell hit two three-pointers in a 13-2 run that gave Pepperdine its biggest lead of six at 18-12 with 13:50 left in the first half. For the final 11 1/2 minutes of the first half, the game was never separated by more than two points.
However, Rice opened the second half with a 13-0 run to go in front 49-35. The Owls would lead by as many as 28 points.
KEY STATS
- The Waves were outshot 49.2% to 35.4%.
- After being held to 40.6% shooting in the first half, the Owls hit on 58.6% of their shots in the second half.
- Rice got a game-high 24 points from Travis Evee, who hit six three-pointers.
NOTABLES
- Newcomers scored more than half of the Waves' points (37 of 63).
- Mitchell and graduate transfer forward Keith Fisher III (Los Angeles, Calif./Illinois State) drew their first career starts for the Waves.
UP NEXT
The home opener is Friday (Nov. 12) against Idaho State 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.
