LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Pepperdine men's basketball team nearly pulled off a second-half comeback in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament, but the Waves saw their season come to an end with a 74-67 loss to San Diego on Thursday night.
 
Tenth-seeded Pepperdine (7-25) fell behind by 11 in the first half, but rallied to take the lead by as many as six in the second half. However, a late 9-0 run by seventh-seeded USD (15-15) proved to be the difference.
 
BIG WAVES

• Freshman guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) recorded his first career double-double, and nearly had a triple-double, with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The 10 rebounds were a career high and the eight assists matched his season best.
• Freshman guard Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) added 12 points and six rebounds. He sank a three-pointer for the 26th consecutive game, tying the fourth-longest streak in Pepperdine history. He finished the year with 71 three-pointers, the Pepperdine freshman record and tied for ninth on the overall single-season list.
• Junior forward Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) contributed 10 points.

PLAY BY PLAY
 
The Toreros made their first four shots, the Waves missed their first three, and it was 10-0 before Mitchell got the Waves on the board three minutes in. Pepperdine got within three at 14-11, but a 6-0 run later helped USD to another 10-point lead at 23-13. The Toreros took their biggest lead of the half of 11 points at 34-23. But the Waves went on a 9-2 run to end the half, getting them within four points at 36-32 at the break.
 
The Waves scored seven of the first nine points in the second half, extending their run to 16-4, and took their first lead of the game at 39-38 on a Mallette three-pointer. Tied at 41, the Waves had a phenomenal one-minute stretch, as freshman center Carson Basham (Phoenix, Ariz./AZ Compass Prep) dunked, senior guard Jay Yoon (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia HS) hit a floater, and Basham blocked a shot leading to fast-break lay-up by sophomore forward Kendall Munson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS), making it 47-41 in Pepperdine's favor with 13 minutes left. That would turn out to be Pepperdine's biggest lead of the game. Mitchell assisted on all three baskets.
 
At 49-44, however, the Toreros countered with a 6-0 run. Pepperdine regained the lead at 53-50 thanks to a jumper by senior guard Jade' Smith (Oakland, Calif./St. Joseph Notre Dame HS) and a lay-up by Basham. After another lead change, Pepperdine regained the lead for the final time with five minutes left, at 59-58 after jumpers by Smith and Zidek.
 
But USD quickly regained the advantage with a three-pointer – the eighth and final lead change of the second half – and that kick-started a 9-0 run over the next 2 1/2 minutes that effectively decided the contest. That made it 67-59 with under three minutes to play, and Pepperdine would get no closer than six the rest of the way.
 
KEY STATS 

• Pepperdine outshot USD by a slim margin of 43.5% to 43.3%.
• But, the Toreros made twice as many three-pointers, hitting eight to the Waves' four.
• San Diego also had more success at the free throw line, going 14-for-20 versus 9-for-14.
• San Diego was led by Joey Calcaterra's 20 points.

NOTABLE

• This was the 13th WCC Tournament meeting between the Waves and Toreros, the most by Pepperdine and any one opponent. USD improved to 8-5 in the matchups.
• Smith had two steals, and he finished his five-year career with 146, sixth-most in Pepperdine history. It was the final appearances for seniors Smith (eight points), Yoon (eight points) and Victor Ohia Obioha (two points).