Thursday, December 21
Malibu, Calif.
4:00 p.m. PT
Pepperdine University
vs
William & Mary
Photo by: Morgan Davenport
Men's Basketball Remains Home for the Holidays
12/20/2023 10:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MALIBU – The Pepperdine men's basketball team returns to Malibu for its penultimate nonconference matchup against William and Mary on Thursday afternoon.
GAME #14: Pepperdine (5-8) vs William and Mary (5-6) | Dec. 21, 2023 | Malibu | 4 p.m.
COVERAGE - In a partnership between the WCC and ESPN, all WCC-sponsored sports at Pepperdine will be streamed on the ESPN+ app or by heading to ESPN.com/Watch. Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein continues his streak of 1,173-straight men's basketball broadcasts as he enters his 39th season on the call. Joining him this season is veteran Waves hoops staffer John Impelman, who begins his broadcast career in the color
commentary seat.
LAST TIME OUT - The Waves were led by usual suspects Michael Ajayi and Houston Mallette in the contest at Louisville, where each scored 17 and 11 respectfully. Malik Moore added on 10 points to round out Pepperdine's double-digit scorers and Boubacar Coulibaly tacked on three blocks. The game also saw the return of Jevon Porter, who had missed the first half of the season due to injury.
AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Junior college transfer Michael Ajayi has accrued seven total double-doubles through 12 games and sits third in the country in that category. He also comes in fifth on the NCAA total rebounding list with 127, as well as second in points (17.4) and rebounds (9.8) per game in the WCC.
MALLETTE MADNESS - The Waves' leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits atop the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 17.5 points per game. The junior is also first in the WCC in the same category, while also sitting at second for threes per game (2.2). Nationally, Mallette is 19th on the total points scored list with 227 total this season after hitting the 1,000-career-point mark back in November.
NICE TO SEE YA, BOUBA - After missing the last half of the 2022-23 season and the first 10 games of this one due to injury, redshirt junior forward Boubacar Coulibaly has made an immediate impact upon his return. Over the past three games, the Bamako, Mali-native has averaged 8.3 points and four boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, blocking three shots in each game since his return.
ON THE TRIBE - Wing Gabe Dorsey leads the Tribe with 15.4 points per game on a 45% three-point shooting clip. He is followed by guard Trey Moss at 14.3 points per contest and has accrued 31 assists through 11 games while forward Caleb Dorsey leads the rebounding effort at 6.3 boards per game.
UP NEXT – Pepperdine will take a short holiday break and then invite Westcliff to Malibu on December 29 for one last nonconference tune-up before WCC play.
GAME #14: Pepperdine (5-8) vs William and Mary (5-6) | Dec. 21, 2023 | Malibu | 4 p.m.
COVERAGE - In a partnership between the WCC and ESPN, all WCC-sponsored sports at Pepperdine will be streamed on the ESPN+ app or by heading to ESPN.com/Watch. Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein continues his streak of 1,173-straight men's basketball broadcasts as he enters his 39th season on the call. Joining him this season is veteran Waves hoops staffer John Impelman, who begins his broadcast career in the color
commentary seat.
LAST TIME OUT - The Waves were led by usual suspects Michael Ajayi and Houston Mallette in the contest at Louisville, where each scored 17 and 11 respectfully. Malik Moore added on 10 points to round out Pepperdine's double-digit scorers and Boubacar Coulibaly tacked on three blocks. The game also saw the return of Jevon Porter, who had missed the first half of the season due to injury.
AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Junior college transfer Michael Ajayi has accrued seven total double-doubles through 12 games and sits third in the country in that category. He also comes in fifth on the NCAA total rebounding list with 127, as well as second in points (17.4) and rebounds (9.8) per game in the WCC.
MALLETTE MADNESS - The Waves' leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits atop the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 17.5 points per game. The junior is also first in the WCC in the same category, while also sitting at second for threes per game (2.2). Nationally, Mallette is 19th on the total points scored list with 227 total this season after hitting the 1,000-career-point mark back in November.
NICE TO SEE YA, BOUBA - After missing the last half of the 2022-23 season and the first 10 games of this one due to injury, redshirt junior forward Boubacar Coulibaly has made an immediate impact upon his return. Over the past three games, the Bamako, Mali-native has averaged 8.3 points and four boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, blocking three shots in each game since his return.
ON THE TRIBE - Wing Gabe Dorsey leads the Tribe with 15.4 points per game on a 45% three-point shooting clip. He is followed by guard Trey Moss at 14.3 points per contest and has accrued 31 assists through 11 games while forward Caleb Dorsey leads the rebounding effort at 6.3 boards per game.
UP NEXT – Pepperdine will take a short holiday break and then invite Westcliff to Malibu on December 29 for one last nonconference tune-up before WCC play.
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
