MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine men's basketball team fell 73-44 to 24th-ranked Saint Mary's on Thursday night at Firestone.
 
BIG WAVES

• Sophomore Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) led the way with 15 points, five rebounds and two steals.
• Sophomore Carson Basham (Phoenix, Ariz./AZ Compass Prep) contributed six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots on the night.
• Freshman Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic HS) scored six points, brought down four boards and earned two steals. 

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Basham got the Waves rolling early with a bucket and a foul out of the gates. He scored six of the Waves' eight in the first five minutes of play, followed by a Mallette three in transition. The Gaels took off, however, using a 9-0 run midway through the half to increase their lead to 18 before Pepperdine responded with a 9-0 run of its own to head into the locker rooms with a 33-24 Saint Mary's advantage. 

The Waves couldn't get going in the second period, where the Gaels had a 31-point lead with seven minutes left to play. Shots were not falling for Pepperdine, as the crew went 26.1% from the field, but redshirt freshman center Aladji Gassama saw his first minutes in a Waves uniform, contributing a layup and an eight-foot jumper before the final buzzer sounded with a 73-44 score. 

KEY STATS

• The Waves forced 14 turnovers while also turning the ball over 14 times.
• Pepperdine was outrebounded 45-27.
• The Waves outscored the Gaels on fastbreaks, earning 14 points to Saint Mary's 10.

UP NEXT
Pepperdine will head up to Portland to take on the Pilots this Saturday, set for a 3 p.m. tip-off on Root/Bally Sports. Veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein will also have the call on WaveCasts.