MORAGA, Calif. – The Pepperdine men's basketball team ran out of gas against 18^th-ranked Saint Mary's after playing the Gaels tough through most of the first half. SMC would take the win 103-59 on Thursday night.
 
The Waves fall to 10-17 overall and 3-9 in West Coast Conference play, while the Gaels remain spotless in league competition at 12-0 and hold a 21-6 overall record.  
 
BIG WAVES

• Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) led the Waves with 13 points while pulling down three rebounds and earning a block.
• Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) contributed 11 points– going spotless from the free-throw line– and gathered four rebounds.
• Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian) scored nine of his 10 total points in the second half on 4-for-7 field goal shooting and recorded two boards.
• Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian) finished with nine points and three boards, tacking on a block and a steal.

 
KEY STATS

• Pepperdine was outshot from the field 36% to 62% by Saint Mary's and the Gaels made 63% of their long-range attempts while the Waves settled for 36%.
• SMC controlled the paint all evening, scoring 58 from that range to Pepperdine's 24, while the Gaels cleaned the glass 39-19.

 
RECAP
The Gaels got on the board first, hitting two threes and keeping the Waves scoreless until just under 16 minutes in the first stanza. Malik Moore sunk a three of his own and Porter hit a step-back jumper to spur Pepperdine into action. The Waves would play catch-up most of the first half, however, but did not let Saint Mary's pull away until the Gaels delivered three long-range daggers in a row on the way to an 11-0 run in the last five minutes. Everything was hitting for SMC, including a half-court heave at the buzzer by Alex Ducas, who finished the half with 14 points and made all four of his attempts from downtown. The teams went into the locker rooms at a 43-27 score in favor of the Gaels.
 
Ethan Anderson carried the Waves throughout the opening minutes of the second half, driving to the basket and earning two buckets on post moves from the paint and sinking a pair of free throws. The Gaels seemingly got whatever they wanted inside, however, as eight of their 11 points in the first four minutes were scored from close-range. Midway through, the teams traded threes as Nils Cooper hit a corner three and Mallette hit one from the opposite corner to bookend the Gaels. The Waves would not get within 19 points of Saint Mary's in the final 10 minutes of play and snowballed into a 103-59 loss.
 
UP NEXT
Pepperdine returns to Malibu Saturday to take on Portland at 7 p.m. The Waves will welcome great Dwayne Polee back to Firestone after his induction to the Pepperdine Hall of Fame prior to the game.