SANTA BARBARA, California – Another tough second-half stretch was costly for the Pepperdine men's basketball team, as UC Santa Barbara earned an 86-74 home win on Friday night.
 
The Waves (2-8) went toe-to-toe with the Big West Conference favorites and held a two-point lead early in the second half, but then the Gauchos (4-2) scored 12 straight points to go up by double-figures, and Pepperdine couldn't catch up.
 
BIG WAVES

• Junior forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) scored a team-high 20 points, his second time this season hitting that mark. He also had seven rebounds.
• Senior center Victor Ohia Obioha (Owerri, Nigeria/Hillcrest HS) had 15 points, one shy of his career high, and added eight rebounds.
• Freshman guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) had nine points, making three three-pointers, along with five assists.
• Senior guard Darryl Polk Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) made his season debut and provided a nice spark with nine points and four assists.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
A hugely entertaining first half ended in a 41-41 tie when Mitchell hit a fallaway three-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer. The half featured nine lead changes and six ties. The Waves got out to a 12-6 lead when Polk made a steal at midcourt and went in for a lay-up, capping off a 9-2 run. UCSB's biggest lead of the half was also six points at 32-26, but the Waves scored the next six points to tie it at 32. Back-to-back three-pointers by freshman guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS)  gave Pepperdine its last lead of the half at 38-37.
 
A Zidek basket gave Pepperdine its final lead of the game early in the second half at 48-46. But over nearly three minutes, the Waves went scoreless and the Gauchos scored 12 straight points to go up by double-figures at 58-48 with 14:54 left. The Waves would get no closer than six the rest of the way, while the Gauchos' biggest lead would be 13.
 
KEY STATS 

• The Gauchos outshot the Waves, 53.1% to 43.3%.
• UCSB had a huge edge at the free throw line, going 27-for-35 to Pepperdine's 8-for-11.
• The Gauchos also had advantages in points off turnovers (19-15), bench points (36-27) and points in the paint (36-32).
• Pepperdine grabbed a season-high 14 offensive rebounds.
• UCSB put five players into double-figures, led by Calvin Wishart, who scored all 23 of his points in the first half.

NOTABLE 

• Jade' Smith had two steals, and he now needs just three more to get into Pepperdine's all-time top 10.
• UCSB has now won the last six meetings in the series.
• The Waves ended a stretch that saw them play five of their last six away from Firestone Fieldhouse.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine plays four of its final five non-conference games at home, beginning with Monday's contest (Dec. 6) against San Jose State at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed online on the WCC Network. Ticket information and COVID-19 entry policies for Firestone Fieldhouse can be found here.