SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Sophomore Mike Mitchell Jr. drained 20 points in the first half, including six threes, but the Pepperdine men's basketball team succumbed to a San Francisco second half surge and ultimately fell 88-80 on Saturday night.

BIG WAVES

• Sophomore Mike Mitchell Jr. (San Jose, Calif./Arch Bishop Mitty HS) finished with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, as well as two assists, a rebound and a steal.
• Freshman Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) contributed 14 points and seven boards.
• Senior Jan Zidek (Prague, Czech Republic) accrued 10 points and three rebounds.
• Freshman Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian HS) shot 3-for-5 from the field, good for 10 points, as well as four rebounds and a steal. 

PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Waves scored the first two buckets of the game courtesy of Lewis and Mitchell, but the Dons would pull ahead shortly after and the lead would flip-flop for the next ten minutes on an offensive stalwart. With just under seven minutes to go in the half, Mitchell took over, going five-straight from the three-point line and, with the help of Porter and Lewis free throws, Pepperdine enjoyed an 8-0 run. USF made a layup here-and-there but the Waves extended their lead to 16 at the two-minute mark on a Zidek three from the top of the key. Tyrell Roberts got hot from beyond the arc with a minute left, sinking two threes to bring the Dons within seven heading into the locker room. 

In the second half, the Waves allowed several USF runs between Pepperdine turnovers and fouls. The home team took the lead back at the 14-minute mark– largely by the hands of Roberts's 32 points– and kept it until the final buzzer. 

KEY STATS

• Pepperdine outshot the Dons from three-point range, going for 40% compared to USF's 34%.
• The Waves' bench edged San Francisco's by one point, going 26-25 courtesy of Zidek, Moore and Jalen Pitre (Long Beach, Calif./Woodstock Academy).
• Pepperdine held the lead for 18:26 minutes of the game, but the Dons' 15:40 with the lead was enough to push ahead.

UP NEXT
The Waves return to Malibu to take on #16 Gonzaga at Firestone Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. Bally Sports Network will broadcast the contest on its regional channels and veteran play-by-play man Al Epstein will also have the call on WaveCasts.