SPOKANE, Wash. – The Pepperdine men's basketball team fell to #10 Gonzaga in a 111-88 battle that was close at the start on New Year's Eve in Spokane.

Carson Basham had a career-high 17 points with an efficient 70% shooting mark while going 3-for-3 on the charity stripe. 
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore Maxwell Lewis (Las Vegas, Nev./AZ Compass Prep) poured in 20 points for his fifth-straight game scoring 20 or more, going 64% from the field and 2-for-3 beyond the arc. He also contributed five rebounds and a block.
• Sophomore Carson Basham (Phoenix, Ariz./AZ Compass Prep) added four boards and two blocks in addition to his career-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting. 
• Freshman Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic HS) also contributed 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds on the afternoon.
• Sophomore Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Arch Bishop Mitty HS) scored 13 points, six rebounds and dished out seven assists. 

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves came out of the gates hot, going toe-to-toe with the Zags in the opening minutes of play. Pepperdine scored first on a Basham roll to the bucket and the Waves answered every Gonzaga point until the 17-minute mark, where Lewis drained a three to put Pepperdine up 11-7. The Waves would hold the lead for the next three minutes with the help of stellar defense on the perimeter. Gonzaga drilled the ball inside, however, and Pepperdine had no answer in the paint as the Zags outscored the Waves 40-18 from that range. The Bulldogs went on two separate 9-0 runs in the latter portion of the second half to put Gonzaga up 56-40 at the half.

In the second half, the Waves kept hitting shots but were outrun by the Zags in transition. Pepperdine again answered every Gonzaga bucket with its own as Lewis entered the game after sitting most of the first period in foul trouble but Drew Timme was unstoppable in the paint. Basham scored his career-high 17th point on a lob from Houston Mallette with two minutes left to play but the Zags stretched their lead to a 111-85 final. 

KEY STATS

• The rebounding margin was very close through the contest with Gonzaga getting one more board than the Waves at 35-34.
• Pepperdine had five total blocks while the Zags did not record a block.
• Gonzaga outscored the Waves in the paint, going for 70 compared to Pepperdine's 46.

UP NEXT
The Waves will fly back to SoCal to remain home for the first week of 2023 as they invite Santa Clara and Pacific to Malibu on Thursday and Saturday.