Skip To Main Content

Pepperdine University Athletics

Coulibaly vs CSUF
Morgan Davenport
60
Winner Cal St. Fullerton CSF 5-4,0-0 Big West
55
Pepperdine PEP 4-7,0-0 WCC
Winner
Cal St. Fullerton CSF
5-4,0-0 Big West
60
Final
55
Pepperdine PEP
4-7,0-0 WCC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 32 28 60
Pepperdine PEP 20 35 55

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | by Athletic Communications

Shooting Woes Sink Waves Against CSUF

MALIBU – The Pepperdine men's basketball team overcame a 15-point deficit to get back into the game but shooting woes doomed the Waves against Cal State Fullerton, falling 60-55 on Wednesday night.
 
The Waves (4-7) were assisted by the return of Boubacar Coulibaly, who missed the second half of the 2022-23 season and the beginning of the current year due to injury.
 
BIG WAVES
  • Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) led the team with 16 points- 12 of which came in the second half- and a career-high nine boards, tacking on five assists and a block.
  • Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) put in 13 points, going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and pulled down six rebounds.
  • Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) went 4-for-7 from the field, grabbed four boards and blocked three shots in his first game back.
  • Nils Cooper (Los Angeles, Calif./Crossroads HS) had six points but shined defensively, putting in career-highs of 26 minutes and seven rebounds.
 
KEY STATS
  • The Waves again saw a lid on the basket in the first half shooting 29% from the field but righted the ship in the second half with a .538 clip.
  • Both teams shot poorly from beyond the arc, with Pepperdine putting in 16% and Fullerton 14% total.
  • Pepperdine out-rebounded the Titans 39-31 and shared the ball more often than CSUF at a rate of 15-7.  
 
RECAP
The Titans opened up the game on six-straight made shots and didn't see a miss until the under-16 media timeout. Moore drained the first field goal for the Waves on a three, but the team underwent a five-minute drought before Coulibaly's return rehydrated Pepperdine. Unfortunately, not much would fall for the Waves for the rest of the period, seeing the good guys shoot 29% from field goal range and a measly 9.1% from beyond the arc. The teams would head into the locker rooms with a score of 32-20 in Fullerton's favor.
 
Mallette opened up the second half on a jumper and the junior scored 12 of his 16 points in the latter period to help the Waves chip away the Titan lead. Coulibaly added a spark to the Pepperdine demeanor after throwing down a couple dunks and Ajayi found his footing bringing the Waves within one point with just over two minutes to go, but Pepperdine couldn't get a vital shot to fall in the final minute.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves remain home this weekend to take on UC San Diego on Saturday afternoon set for a 6 p.m. tip.
 
Print Friendly Version