HENDERSON, Nevada – Junior Houston Mallette exploded for 31 points and the Pepperdine men's basketball team improved its three-point shooting mark by almost 50% between halves but fell to Indiana State 90-82 in the penultimate Ball Dawgs Classic game Wednesday evening.
 
The Waves (3-4) move on to play New Mexico on Friday afternoon for their final contest in the desert, set for a 3:45 p.m. tip.
 
BIG WAVES

• For the second time in his Pepperdine career, Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) crossed the 30-point threshold with 31 total on 12-of-20 (60%) field goal and 5-of-6 (83.3%) three-point shooting. His 12 made field goals created a new career high.
• Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) delivered 25 points and eight rebounds to go with five assists and two steals.
• Jalen Pitre (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS) came off the bench and hit clutch buckets, finishing with nine total points and three boards.
• Nils Cooper (Crossroads HS/Los Angeles, Calif.) contributed seven points- including an emphatic dunk- and three rebounds.

 
KEY STATS

• The Waves played two drastically different halves of basketball, shooting a .438 mark in the first half from the field and then finishing the second with a .677 clip on roughly the same number of attempts.
• Beyond the arc was no different, seeing Pepperdine shoot a measly 14.3% on 1-of-7 in the opening period, but turning around and lighting up the latter half with a 62.5% on 5-of-8 shooting.
• Pepperdine remedied its 10 first-half errors and only turned the ball over six times in the second half of play.
• Six Indiana State players contributed double-figure scoring, led by guard Isaiah Swope with 21.

 
RECAP
Mallette and Ajayi traded shots to open the contest but Indiana State slowed the Pepperdine offense down midway through the first 20 minutes, causing 10 first half Waves turnovers. Most of the scoring production resulted in Mallette finishing the possession with a turnaround jumper or a dagger three and the junior finished the half leading the Waves with 13 points on 6-of-12 field goal shooting. The Sycamores benefited off of Pepperdine errors, scoring 12 buckets from takeaways and ISU led the Waves by 15 heading into the locker room.
 
Pepperdine came back out of halftime with renewed fervor as Malik Moore joined in on the scoring efforts and the Waves adjusted defensively on the Sycamores' offense and came alive on the offensive outputs of their own. Cooper and Pitre came off the bench to provide sparks on both ends of the floor, and the Waves brought the deficit to within four points on a Pitre short corner jumper with about eight to go. Mallette continued his scoring barrage and the Pepperdine defense helped shut down the lane but relinquished the three-point line as the Sycamores hit key shots from downtown to stave off the Waves for a 90-82 final.
 
NEXT UP
The Waves will take Thanksgiving Day off from competition, returning to the court on Friday, November 24 at 3:45 p.m. to take on New Mexico.