MALIBU, Calif. – Every available Wave on the Pepperdine men's basketball team bench saw playing time on Sunday afternoon as the Waves flattened Lafayette College by a score of 76-53.
 
BIG WAVES

• With his second double-double of the short season, Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) recorded 27 points and pulled down 11 boards to lead the Waves in both categories. He accrued had three assists, a steal and a block while also going spotless from beyond the arc in all four of his long-range attempts.
• Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian) poured in 15 points on 66.7% field goal shooting while making all six of his free throw attempts. In addition, he brought down three rebounds, dished four assists and had one steal.
• Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian) played a well-rounded game, contributing 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Waves.
• Redshirt freshman Cord Stansberry (Bermuda Dunes, Calif./Shadow Hills) delivered nine points on 80% shooting from field goal range.

 

KEY STATS

• The Waves outshot the Leopards in all three categories today with a 47.6% total field goal mark, going 38.9% from beyond the arc and gathering 69.2% from the charity stripe.
• Pepperdine's defense held Lafayette to 26 and 27 total points each half, respectively.
• The Waves held the advantage in points in the paint as well, going for 34 compared to the Leopards' 24.
• Pepperdine led for just over 30 minutes of the contest.

 

RECAP
The Waves took several minutes to pull together any kind of offensive output, seeing a six-point Leopards lead midway through the first half, but stormed back after the under-12 media timeout as mid-range jumpers by Ajayi and Stansberry brought the Waves back at an even 18-all. Pepperdine's offense took the last six minutes of play to explode into a 15-0 run, heading into the locker room with a 16-point lead over Lafayette.
 
Opening the second half with an 8-0 Mallette and Ajayi run, the Waves and Leopards stalled each other offensively for about a two-minute spread until Stansberry hit a three to push the Pepperdine lead to 20. An Aladji Gassama (Bamako, Mali/De Smet Jesuit) layup from an Ajayi dish gave the Waves their biggest lead of the game at 30 as the spread flirted around that number for the rest of the half. With just over two minutes left in regulation, head coach Lorenzo Romar subbed in the remaining bench to a round of applause and redshirt sophomore Paul Jordan (Sea Cliff, N.J./Long Island Lutheran) saw his first collegiate points come in the form of a layup with a minute to play.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves turn around to take on LIU Brooklyn tomorrow evening in Firestone, set for a 7 p.m. tip off.