IRVINE, Calif. – Despite a first-half lead, the Pepperdine men's basketball team fell to a tough UC Irvine squad 80-62 in the Bren Events Center Saturday night.
 
The Waves (1-2) were led yet again by Stefan Todorovic but couldn't overcome second half defensive lapses and the Anteaters' (4-0) bench depth.
 
BIG WAVES

• Stefan Todorovic (Belgrade, Serbia/SMU/USF) recorded 17 points, two rebounds and two steals.
• Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) contributed 14 points, six boards and a career-high five blocked shots.
• Moe Odum (The Bronx, N.Y./Pacific) had 12 points, pulled down four boards and again led the team in assists with eight on the night.

 
KEY STATS

• The Waves and Anteaters finished relatively similar in the turnover column at nine Pepperdine errors to UCI's eight.
• Pepperdine again outshot its opponent, connecting on 40.6% of field goal attempts compared to UC Irvine's 38.3% and delivering 40% 3FG to the Anteaters' 25%.
• UCI outrebounded the Waves at a rate of 48-29.

 
RECAP
The Waves struck first off of a Coulibaly dunk and both teams would trade baskets in attempt to find a rhythm. UCI took a quick lead just before the first media timeout, but Todorovic would go on an 11-0 run by himself to pull Pepperdine into a 20-9 lead with over half of the first stanza to play. Odum delivered a transition three and a jumper to help extend the differential, but the Anteaters would connect on a 9-0 run to even things out at 29 at the five-minute mark. Both squads would again trade buckets for the last few minutes of the half, leading to a 35-33 Waves lead heading into intermission.
 
UC Irvine took off to begin the second half, as defensive lapses from Pepperdine allowed 20 Anteater points within the first eight minutes and the Waves double their turnovers from the first stanza at five. UCI's five-man substitutions kept the Anteaters fresh against an injury-ridden Waves bench, allowing them the ability to keep running the floor on Pepperdine. The Waves would get within five or six points but UC Irvine kept the good guys at arm's length, going up 12 with just under 10 minutes left in the contest.
 
UP NEXT
Pepperdine embarks on its furthest road trip of the season next week, visiting UNLV in Las Vegas and then skipping over to Evanston, Ill. for a matchup against Northwestern.
 
STAY CONNECTED
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