Box Score SAN FRANCISCO – The Pepperdine men's basketball team could not get shots to fall Saturday evening as the San Francisco Dons beat the Waves 92-68 in War Memorial.
 
Pepperdine (12-18, 5-10 WCC) was outmatched in the paint, seeing 44 USF points come from that range as the Waves only mustered 20 from inside.
 
BIG WAVES

• Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic HS) led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-12 field goal shooting while collecting five rebounds and two assists.
• Houston Mallette (Alameda, Calif./Pacifica Christian HS) added 15 points, three boards and four assists.
• Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) recorded his 15^th double-double of the season to move into the lone spot atop the WCC in that category and put him tied for third in the Pepperdine single-season double-double leaderboard alongside Dana Jones (1993-94) and Stacy Davis (2015-16).

 
KEY STATS

• The Waves were outscored in the paint as well as from the USF bench, where 52 Dons' points originated compared to Pepperdine's 11.
• San Francisco only narrowly outrebounded the Waves at a count of 32-29, but made more of their boards count at a rate of 15 second-chance points to eight.
• The Dons shared the ball at a stellar rate, recording 20 total assists on the night. Pepperdine had only eight assists.

 
RECAP
Pepperdine did not record a field goal for the first eight minutes of play until Porter hit a jumper with 11:37 on the clock. The sophomore had all 10 points– with six coming from the charity stripe– in a run that lasted until he assisted on an Ajayi corner three after the clock passed the midway point in the first stanza. Unfortunately for the Waves, USF came out hot from beyond the arc and used its size to bully Pepperdine down low, doubling up early and keeping the good guys at arm's length. The Dons weren't shooting spectacularly, but held a 46%-22% long range mark over the Waves that eventually led to a 39-24 halftime score in USF's favor.
 
With the exception of an Anderson putback floater, the second half started similarly to the first as Pepperdine could not control the ball and the lid reappeared on the basket. Mallette took it upon himself to not repeat their earlier actions, however, and 8-2 run on his own as he hit two threes and a layup to slightly cut the Dons' lead. Ajayi was next to heat up, making a corner three off an assist from Malik Moore to bring the game within 13. It was the closest the Waves would get as San Francisco picked off multiple Waves plays and did not let up, resulting in a 93-68 final.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves return to Malibu next Thursday for the squad's regular-season finale against current #18 Saint Mary's. The game will also serve as Senior Night for guard Ethan Anderson and will include a pre-game recognition on court.