TEMPE, Ariz. – Four Waves contributed double-figures in scoring as the Pepperdine men's basketball team defeated New Mexico State 82-70 in the opening round of the Arizona Tip-Off Friday afternoon.
 
The Waves (2-5) enjoyed a hot shooting night, going 52.9% from the field, 37% from beyond the arc and 70% from the charity stripe while leading for the entirety of the game.
 
BIG WAVES

• Stefan Todorovic (Belgrade, Serbia/SMU/USF) once again led the Waves with 22 points on 8-for-12 field goal shooting while pulling down six boards and racking in five assists.
• Moe Odum (The Bronx, N.Y./Pacific) added 15 points on 3-of-4 3FG shooting while dishing out nine assists.
• Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) had 13 points and missed only two field goals while gathering a team-high nine rebounds and swatting four shots.
• Zion Bethea (South Orange, N.J./Delaware) contributed 11 points and eight boards.

 
KEY STATS

• The Waves' defense held New Mexico State to just 37% from the field and 14% from long range.
• Pepperdine won the rebound battle 45-41.
• The Waves also were more selfless with the ball, dishing out 21 assists to NMSU's eight.

 
RECAP
The Waves came out of the jump swinging after a pair of free throws and a corner three from Dovydas Butka. Throughout the first 20 minutes, Pepperdine would enjoy shooting 45% three-point accuracy compared to NMSU's 8% largely due to Odum's two triples in the half. The Waves biggest run reached only six points but stifled any Aggie scoring possession with scoring of their own. Coulibaly helped keep the New Mexico State shooting percentages down with his three blocks of the half and Pepperdine would end the first half on a Todorovic jumper and an Odum three to enter the locker rooms at a 42-29 advantage.
 
In the second half, New Mexico State would put up several short scoring runs but never got within six points of the Pepperdine lead. Toward the end of the game, the Aggies switched up their defensive strategy by full-court pressing the Waves, which fueled several fastbreak opportunities for NMSU but Pepperdine eventually found the gaps and capitalized off of Aggie lapses. The last two minutes of the contest was a glorified game of keep-away, but Bethea and Coulibaly connected on the last few shots of the game to put the final score at 82-70 in the Waves' favor.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves take on Weber State in the Arizona Tip-Off championship game tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. PT.
 
 
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