PROVO, Utah – The Pepperdine men's basketball team would not go away on Saturday night, erasing a 13-point deficit and fighting back to within two points, but BYU ultimately got the 91-81 win over the Waves in Provo. 

Pepperdine saw five Waves accrue double-figure scoring but is now 1-2 overall this season with the wealth spread by that number. 

BIG WAVES

• Sophomore Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) led the way with 19 points– 12 of which came in the second half– four steals (a career-best) and two rebounds.

• Sophomore Maxwell Lewis (Las Vegas, Nev./AZ Compass Prep) contributed 18 points and was unstoppable off the dribble, going 7-for-9 from field goal range.

• Senior Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) erupted for 12 of his 14 points in the second half while adding on three rebounds and three assists.

• Sophomore Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Arch Bishop Mitty HS) put in 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting, recording two boards, four assists and two steals.

• Freshman Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) chipped in 11 points and four rebounds. 

PLAY-BY-PLAY

Pepperdine stayed in neutral for the first half of the opening period, where BYU went on a 9-0 run within the first three minutes of play. The Cougars controlled the first half as eight of the Waves' 11 turnovers were committed in that period, seeing a BYU lead heading into the locker room at 41-28.

It was a story of two halves, however, as Pepperdine went on an 8-0 run with six of those points courtesy of Mallette. Both teams traded buckets until Zidek nailed a corner three to spark another small run by the Waves, bringing the good guys within two after a Mallette three at the under 12 timeout. The Waves hit a midway scoring drought until they delivered eight-straight, capitalized by a Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian HS) corner three.Zidek came alive yet again late in the game, muscling the ball inside to keep the Waves within striking distance. A BYU three iced the game for the Cougars with under two minutes left to play, extending the deficit to eight and eventually a 10 point final after BYU free throws.

KEY STATS

• This was the third game that the Waves finished with fewer turnovers than their opponent but lost (PEPP 11 - BYU 14).

• Pepperdine scored 14 points off of BYU turnovers in comparison to the Cougars' 10. 

• The Waves finished shooting at 52% from the field as BYU finished at 51%.

UP NEXT

Pepperdine will return home next week to entice Saint Mary's on Thursday night before heading north to Portland on Saturday.