Waves Defeat Northern Arizona in Offensive Outpouring

Saturday, December 3

Malibu, Calif.

5:00 p.m. PT

Pepperdine University

5-2,0-0WCC

Northern Arizona

3-7,0-0Big Sky

Team	1	2	F
Northern Ariz.	39	30	69
Pepperdine	41	47	88

Photo by: Morgan Davenport

Waves Defeat Northern Arizona in Offensive Outpouring

12/3/2022 8:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE Photo Gallery

By: by Athletic Communications

MALIBU, Calif. – Max Lewis dropped a career-high 30 points and Houston Mallette broke yet another program record as the Pepperdine men's basketball team defeated Northern Arizona 88-69 in Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves (5-2) improved to 5-0 in Firestone Fieldhouse for the first time since 2015-16, when Pepperdine went 9-0 at home.

Mallette snapped the previous record for most consecutive games with a made three and now leads after achieving the feat in 33-straight contests, as the shot came four minutes into the game. Terrance Johnson previously held the title at 32 in 2003-04. Lewis led offensively, scoring 17 first half points and shooting 66.7% from the field during that period.

BIG WAVES

Sophomore forward Maxwell Lewis (Las Vegas, Nev./AZ Compass Prep) scored a career-high 30 points for the Waves, going 12-of-19 overall, tacking on six rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) broke the Pepperdine record for most consecutive games with a made three-pointer (33) and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Sophomore guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Arch Bishop Mitty HS) contributed 17 points, shooting 62.5% from beyond the arc (5-of-8), going 4-for-5 from the three in the second half.
Sophomore center Carson Basham (Phoenix, Ariz./AZ Compass Prep) earned a career-high in boards with nine and tied his career-high in assists with three, scoring 11 points.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves started off sluggish, coming back from down five with a 9-0 run early in the first half led by Mallette's record-breaking three point basket and a Lewis flush to get the score to 21-15. Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian HS) and Jalen Pitre (Long Beach, Calif./Woodstock Academy) proved to be sparks off the bench, entering the game to push the Waves up nine with five minutes in the first half. NAU went on a run of its own, going 5-0 in the under-five mark, but Lewis kept the Waves afloat with his 17 first-period points, giving the home team the lead at 41-39 heading into the locker room.

Northern Arizona scored the first five points of the second half, but Pepperdine closed the gap with a Lewis dunk and a Mitchell Jr. three to put the Waves up for good at 46-44 with 17:41 left in the half. The good guys went on a 10-0 run off of a couple Waves fastbreaks and didn't look back. Pepperdine extended the lead to as many as 24 points but finished on free throws, putting the final score at 88-69 for a Waves win.

KEY STATS

The Waves dominated on the fast break, going for 17 points in that category. NAU finished with four fast break points.
Pepperdine finished defensively with four blocks, 26 defensive rebounds and eight steals.
The Waves outshot the Lumberjacks 52.4% to 39.3%, going 50% from three-point range.
Pepperdine won the paint, going for 38 points compared to the 'Jacks 32.

UP NEXT
The Waves invite Nevada to Firestone on Tuesday, December 6th for an 8 p.m. start. Admission is free with a toy donation and Waves Leadership Council will be putting on a tailgate pregame at the Fieldhouse plaza. The game will be broadcast on the WCC Network as well as Bally Sports West for those in that coverage region.