FULLERTON, California – The Pepperdine men's basketball team had three chances in the final minute to tie or take the lead, but unfortunately couldn't get any of them to fall in a 74-71 defeat at Cal State Fullerton on Friday night.
 
It was a close game throughout, with the biggest lead of the game being seven points for the Titans (1-1). Seventeen turnovers hindered the Waves (1-1).
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore forward Maxwell Lewis (Las Vegas, Nev./AZ Compass Prep) had 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
• Sophomore guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) also had 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
• Freshman forward Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic HS) recorded the first double-double of his college career with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) was held to seven points, but sank a three-pointer for the 28th straight game.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
 
Pepperdine's biggest lead of the game came at four points, first at 16-12 after a three-pointer by senior forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) and again at 18-14 after a dunk by sophomore forward Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC). The first half had a total of seven lead changes, but the two teams went into the break tied at 37.
 
The Titans took their biggest lead of seven points at 55-48 with 12:35 left, but Mitchell converted a four-point play and Pepperdine later tied it at 57 after a 9-2 run. The Waves' only lead of the second half came at 61-60 with less than eight minutes to play on a Coulibaly basket.
 
Fullerton went up by as many as five points after that, but Lewis hit a jumper to make it a one-point game at 72-71 with 1:27 left. The Waves made some defensive stops and had a couple of shots to take the lead, but missed. Cal State Fullerton made two free throws with seven seconds left, and then Pepperdine's final three-point attempt to tie was off the mark.
 
KEY STATS 

• The Waves enjoyed a 47.3% to 38.2% shooting advantage.
• Three-pointers made (eight to seven) and free throws made (14 to 12) were slightly in Cal State Fullerton's favor.
• Pepperdine turned the ball over 17 times, and Fullerton only had eight, leading to a 15-10 edge in points off turnovers for the Titans.
• Cal State Fullerton was led by Jalen Harris' 27 points.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine is back home on Sunday (Nov. 13) to face Alabama State at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network.