TEMPE, Ariz. – Forward Boubacar Coulibaly matched his career high in scoring and achieved his first double-double of the season, but the Pepperdine men's basketball team couldn't overcome Weber State's hot shooting and fell 68-53 in the Arizona Tip-Off Desert Division championship game Saturday afternoon.
 
The game concludes a nearly month-long road trip for the Waves (2-6) and the team's fourth road contest in five games.
 
BIG WAVES

• Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) matched his career high in scoring with 17 points while pulling down 11 rebounds and earning two blocks and a steal. Coulibaly was also named to the All-Tournament Team for the Waves.
• Stefan Todorovic (Belgrade, Serbia/SMU/USF) added 13 points and four rebounds.
• Zion Bethea (South Orange, N.J./Delaware) contributed 12 points– including a stretch of three-straight three pointers in the second half- while adding two rebounds and two steals.
• Moe Odum (The Bronx, N.Y./Pacific) had four points and seven assists on the night.

 
KEY STATS

• Neither squad had an excellent shooting night, but the Wildcats converted more on free throws at 89% compared to Pepperdine's 63%.
• The Waves and Wildcats both shot 29% from beyond the arc, but Weber State finished 7-of-24 while Pepperdine finished 4-of-14 from the same range.
• Both teams scored equally from inside the paint at 26-apiece.

 
RECAP
Pepperdine started off the game on an emphatic Odum-to-Coulibaly alley-oop and the Waves would embark on an 8-0 run after the Wildcats got on the board including five points from Todorovic. Leading 10-2, Pepperdine turnovers relinquished the defensive pressure on the Wildcats. WSU would gain the lead with 10 minutes to play in the opening stanza on yet another Wildcat fastbreak opportunity, and they would prevent the Waves from making a field goal for final five minutes of the half. The Waves 1-3-1 defense stalled Weber State for a few possessions, leading to a 33-23 score heading into the locker rooms in the Wildcats' favor.
 
Bethea opened up the second half on a fastbreak three from the wing and rinse-and-repeated the same action the next time down the floor for the Waves. Neither team excelled at ball control, and after the under 16 media timeout, the only points scored on either side came from the free throw line for the following four minutes. Weber State's defense kept Pepperdine at bay and guard Miguel Tomley hit three threes in the span of two minutes to extend the lead to 15 with four minutes in the contest and ultimately seal the deal at a final score of 68-53.
 
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