MALIBU - Junior Michael Ajayi recorded his 10th double-double in a game that saw 15 lead changes but the Pepperdine men's basketball team succumbed to Santa Clara's hot shooting late in the second half and the Waves struggled from the charity stripe in a 78-72 final on Saturday evening.

The Broncos (11-6, 2-0 WCC) were led by Adama Bal with 28 points as Pepperdine fell to 7-10 (0-2 WCC) on the season.

BIG WAVES

• Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) put together a 27-point, 10-rebound night on 8-of-12 field goal shooting. It was the junior's highest scoring output since his 31-point effort back in November.
• Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) picked up speed, going for 14 points and five boards while also getting the job done defensively.
• While Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) did not have a big offensive night, he pulled down five boards and gathered three steals to go with eight points.

KEY STATS

• Both teams had roughly the same amount of free throw attempts, but it was Santa Clara who capitalized more from the line, going 21-25 compared to 14-24 on the Waves' end. In fact, almost every stat line between the two programs ended up eerily similar with exception to free throw accuracy.

• Pepperdine won the battle in the paint, attributing 30 points from that area in contrast to the Broncos' 28.
• The Waves shared the ball a bit more than SCU- largely due to Ethan Anderson's eight assists- as the final count resulted in 10 assists to the Broncos' six.

RECAP
Both offenses started hot in what would be an uptempo first half. Michael Ajayi hit three of his first four shots to help Pepperdine take an 11-10 lead, then Houston Mallette scored on the next Waves possession to help put the hosts up three. Neither team led by more than three points until Boubacar Coulibaly got the Pepperdine crowd going with a pair of dunks: first with an alley-oop from Ethan Anderson, and then by picking off a Santa Clara pass and going coast-to-coast for an uncontested slam. But with the Waves up by six with eight minutes to play, the Broncos rattled off an 11-3 run to go up 29-27.

Neither team got into an offensive rhythm down the stretch, as Ajayi and SCU guard Brandon Knapper made just three field goals in the final four-and-a-half minutes.Trailing 33-31 to start the second half, the Waves hung with the Broncos until a Jevon Porter three sparked an 8-0 Pepperdine run. Ajayi and Anderson got to the free-throw line, Malik Moore drove to the basket for a layup and the Waves took a 53-49 lead with 8 minutes and 55 seconds to go. Although Santa Clara guard Adama-Alpha Bal scored seven in a row for the Broncos to help put them back in front, a Moore corner three and six points from Houston Mallette swung momentum back in Pepperdine's favor. An alley-oop from Anderson to Ajayi gave the Waves a 72-69 lead with 2 minutes and 14 seconds to go, but Santa Clara tied the game with a three on the next possession.

Pepperdine wouldn't score again. Trailing by two points with 34 seconds remaining, the Waves had several opportunities to tie the game, yet four Santa Clara free throws in the final 18 seconds put Pepperdine's comeback attempt to rest.

UP NEXT
The Waves invite Pacific to Malibu next Thursday before heading south to take on San Diego on Saturday.