MALIBU – Riding the coattails of phenomenal shooting performances across the board, the Pepperdine men's basketball team crushed Portland Saturday night at a final score of 91-70. The Waves hit 15-total threes to mark the most all year by the squad and shared the ball at a stellar rate, recording 21 assists for another season-high.
With the win, the Waves (11-17, 4-9 WCC) have made their case for a sixth or seventh seed in the West Coast Conference tournament which would put Pepperdine's first game on Friday, March 8 in the tournament's second round.
Pepperdine great
Dwayne Polee was honored just prior to tip off after being inducted to the Hall of Fame on Saturday evening. He was joined on court by his high school coach Reggie Morris Sr., his Pepperdine coach Jim Harrick and Athletic Director Steve Potts.
Gallery: (2-17-2024) Dwayne Polee Hall of Fame Induction
BIG WAVES
- Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) scored a game-high 26 points on 62.5% field goal shooting while going 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. The junior pulled down eight rebounds and recorded two assists.
- Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic) added 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field while dishing out four assists and earning three blocks.
- Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian) almost tied his career high in scoring with 17 points and was an absolute threat from long-range, hitting four of his total five threes in the first half while adding on two assists and a steal.
- Ethan Anderson (Carson, Calif./USC/Wyoming) also had a stellar shooting night as he finished with 10 points– including going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. He also dished out four assists and pulled down four boards.
KEY STATS
- The Waves enjoyed a stellar shooting performance, going 62% to the Pilots' 47% from the field and dominating the three-point line at 63%– on a 15-of-24 line– to Portland's 29%. The last time the Waves shot 60+ percent happened in December of 2022 against Cal State LA, as was the last time Pepperdine scored 50 points in the first half. The team's 15 total threes marks the most makes from long range all season.
- Pepperdine out-rebounded Portland 30-25 and ruled the paint, getting 42 points from inside compared to UP's 38.
- The Waves shared the ball astronomically, dishing out 21 assists as a team. Portland recorded only nine.
RECAP
Portland struck first on the night and saw their only lead of the game squandered through the first two minutes of play as Moore drained his first-made three of the night on a fast break sequence. It was all Pepperdine from that moment on, beginning their best shooting performance of the season from both field goal range and beyond the arc. The Waves shared the ball at an insane rate– recording 13 total in the first half alone– which resulted in a high-flying first 20 minutes of play that included six emphatic dunks. Pepperdine would lead by as many as 24 as Moore delivered four of his total five threes and Ajayi went 3-for-4 from the same range in that stanza. The Pilots would go on a slight scoring run toward the end of the half, however, putting the score at 52-36 heading into the break.
That run would continue into the first minute of the second half, allowing Portland to get within 12 points of the Waves, but that was as close as Pepperdine could stand. The good guys earned a 10-0 run of their own midway through the half, seeing Anderson bookend a Moore three with a jumper and a three of his own. Ajayi continued his long-range accuracy, making both of his attempts in route to his game-high 26 points.
True freshman
John Squire shined as well, hearing his name called as fouls troubled the Waves. He caused several Pilot turnovers and cleaned up the glass on the way to gathering the most minutes the Sausilito, Calif.- native had seen all season, energizing the bench and keeping Portland away from any comeback attempt. Threes from
Cord Stansberry and Ajayi gave Pepperdine the 27-point lead at the under-eight media timeout and it was all downhill from there. A Portland defensive lapse left the lane wide open for Porter, who charged down the middle and slammed home a dunk with four minutes to play, and the teams emptied their benches as time dwindled on a 91-70 final.
UP NEXT
Pepperdine embarks on a six-day road trip to Stockton to play Pacific Wednesday before heading to San Francisco to take on the Dons on Saturday.
