MALIBU - The Pepperdine men's basketball team is set to take on Pacific at home on Thursday night before heading south on Saturday for a matchup against San Diego.
 
GAME #18: Pepperdine (7-10, 0-2 WCC) vs Pacific (6-11, 0-2 WCC) | Thursday, Jan. 11 | Malibu, Calif. | 7 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 1,177-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.
 
LAST TIME OUT - Junior Michael Ajayi recorded his 10th double-double in a game that saw 15 lead changes but the Waves were thwarted in the final minute but Santa Clara's hot three-point shooting for a 78-72 final. Ajayi put together a 27-point, 10-rebound game on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and Jevon Porter delivered 14 points and five boards on the night.
 
AJAYI ON THE DOUBLE - Michael Ajayi recorded back-to-back double-doubles last week for his 9th and 10th respectively. He is third in the nation for total double-doubles and has accrued more games with that stat than without in his first NCAA DI season. Should the junior keep at his current pace, he would enter the Pepperdine single-season double-double leaderboard where Marcos Leite (1974-74), Ray Ellis (1977-78), Orlando Phillips (1982-82) and Geoff Lear (1929-90) 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 10.2 points, 4.6 boards and an assist and a steal per contest.
 
MALLETTE MADNESS - The Waves' leader on and off the court, Houston Mallette sits second on the Pepperdine season box score in scoring, pouring in 16.2 points per game. The junior is also third in the WCC in the same category behind only teammate Michael Ajayi. Mallette has totaled 1,115 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 8.7 points, 6.7 boards and has helped the Waves immensely around the rim on the defensive end, averaging 2.3 blocks per game.
 
ON THE TIGERS - During Pacific's 6-9 non-conference campaign, the Tigers saw wins over Cal on an 87-79 final and one-point triumph over Lamar before a five-game skid that lasted into late December. Their last win came over NAIA member Cal Maritime, as four Tigers scored double-figures and the team shot 50.8% from the field.

Pacific's WCC opening week resulted an overtime loss to San Francisco in Stockton and a 78-64 loss at Portland. In the overtime thriller, sophomore guard Moe Odum gathered a double-double on 19 points and 10 assists as guard Lesown Hallums Jr. led the team with 25 points, shooting 81.8% from the field and 75% from long range.

Paving the way for the Tigers is Nick Blake with 11.7 points per contest as Cam Denson leads in rebounds, pulling down 5.1 per game. Judson Martindale is Pacific's top three-point threat, shooting 37.7%, while five Tigers in the regular rotation average field goal clips of above .400.

Last season, the Waves went 0-3 against Pacific as the Tigers booted Pepperdine from the WCC Tournament in the first round. In that game, four Waves contributed double-figures, led by Max Lewis with 16. Of the returners, Jevon Porter scored 12 points on 50% field goal shooting and accrued three assists and two steals.
 
UP NEXT – The Waves head south to take on San Diego in the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Saturday evening set for a 7 p.m. tip.