MALIBU, California – Mike Mitchell Jr. sank seven three-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Pepperdine men's basketball team to an easy 91-62 home victory over Alabama State on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Waves (2-1) outshot the Hornets (0-3) 52.4% to 33.3%, never trailed, and led by as many as 39 points in the second half.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) made his first six three-point shots and finished 7-for-10 from beyond the arc. He was 8-for-13 from the field overall. He also had five assists and two steals. Mitchell's previous career best was 18 points at BYU last season.
• Senior forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) hit double-figures for the first time this season and scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half.
• Sophomore guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) sank four three-pointers and had 14 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. It was his 29th consecutive game with a three-pointer.
• Sophomore forward Maxwell Lewis (Las Vegas, Nev./AZ Compass Prep) contributed 12 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
• Freshman forward Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic HS) grabbed 10 rebounds for the second straight game.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
 
Alabama State never led in the contest. The Waves took their first double-digit lead at 16-6 after a dunk by sophomore forward Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) with 13:43 left in the first half. Mallette and Mitchell sank three-pointers to start a 12-0 run, which grew the lead to 28-9. Alabama State didn't hit double-figures until 8:49 remained in the half. Pepperdine's first 20-point lead came on a Mitchell three-pointer, making it 31-11. An 8-0 ASU run later closed the gap to 37-25, but the Waves ended the half on a 10-0 run, seven of them by Zidek, to make it 47-25 at the break.
 
The Waves had a 15-2 run early in the second half, capped off by another Mitchell three-pointer, to make it a 32-point lead at 62-30. At 62-32, Mallette hit a three-pointer and Mitchell sank two in a three-possession sequence, giving the Waves what turned out to be their biggest lead of the game at 71-32 with 12:40 left. That made the overall run 24-4 over nearly seven minutes.
 
KEY STATS

• The Waves made 13 of 27 three-pointers (48.1%) and held the Hornets to five makes.
• Pepperdine blocked nine shots, with a team-high three by Carson Basham.
• Alabama State was led by TJ Madlock's 17 points.

UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine continues its three-game homestand on Tuesday (Nov. 15) against Vanguard at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network.