Pepperdine Hosts First Round of PCH Cup

MALIBU - The Pepperdine men's basketball team commences the first round of this season's PCH Cup in Firestone on Saturday against rival LMU.

GAME #21: Pepperdine (9-11, 2-3 WCC) vs LMU (8-10, 1-3 WCC) | Saturday, Jan. 20 | Malibu, Calif. | 7 p.m.

COVERAGE - In a partnership between the WCC and ESPN, all WCC-sponsored sports will be streamed on the ESPN+ app or by heading to ESPN.com/Watch. Pepperdine Hall of Famer Al Epstein continues his streak of 1,180-straight men's basketball broadcasts in 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.

PCH CUP - Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime crosstown adversaries Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine have come together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cup. The series serves as an annual scorecard for the NCAA-sponsored athletic contests between the Lions and Waves, and challenges each institution to rise above the other.

LAST TIME OUT - The Waves fell to Gonzaga Thursday evening in a tale of two shooting halves for an 86-61 final. Jevon Porter led Pepperdine's scoring efforts with 16 points as well as four rebounds and two steals. Houston Mallette followed with nine points and four boards. The two teams were tied at halftime, but the Waves could not keep the Zags' big men out of the paint nor continue their stellar shooting efforts from the first 20 minutes.

AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Michael Ajayi recorded 11th double-double at San Diego and is third in the nation for that stat in his first NCAA Division I season. With one more, he would enter the Pepperdine single-season double-double leaderboard where Marcos Leite (1974-75), Ray Ellis (1977-78), Orlando Phillips (1981-82) and Geoff Lear (1989-90) remain tied at ninth all-time with 12 double-doubles apiece.

PORTER POWER – Sophomore Jevon Porter comes off of a stellar debut season where he started all 31 games for the Waves. Porter shocked the league in double-doubles as well, becoming the only freshman to accrue one and ending the season with eight total. Now since his return from injury, the sophomore has averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 boards per contest, including a season high of 26 points against Pacific.

MALLETTE MADNESS - The Waves' leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits second on the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 16.3 points per game. The junior is also second in the WCC in the same category behind only teammate Michael Ajayi and is third in three-pointers per game with 2.4. Mallette has totaled 1,166 points in his three years in Malibu.

COOL-LIBALY- 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. Since his return, the Bamako, Mali-native has averaged 9.1 points, six boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, averaging 1.9 blocks and a steal per game.

ON THE LIONS - Looking for their second conference win, the Lions come to Malibu with an 8-10 overall record after falling to Santa Clara, Saint Mary's and San Francisco to begin WCC play. LMU did earn an 81-64 win over Pacific last week to put the team at 1-3 in the league. Gonzaga transfer Dominick Harris leads the Lions with 14.8 points per game, including a team-high three-point shooting mark at 42%. Alex Merkviladze pulls down a high of 6.4 boards per game and rules the paint for LMU. In the team's last outing, Harris and Will Johnston put in 22 and 19 points respectively, but were out-shot by USF for a 90-74 final.

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Players Mentioned

Michael Ajayi

Boubacar Coulibaly

Houston Mallette

Jevon Porter

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