LAS VEGAS —  Despite clawing back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game with 30 seconds left, the Pepperdine men's basketball team's season came to an end with a 57-52 loss to 5-seed San Diego at the 2024 Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championships on Friday.

Malik Moore hit a three with 30 seconds left to tie the game at 52, but on the Toreros' final possession, guard Wayne McKinney III nailed a go-ahead three in front of his own bench with two seconds left. A desperation cross-court pass on Pepperdine's final possession led to two more free throws from McKinney III, which put the game well out of reach.

"I thought our guys fought," Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar, who coached his final game at Pepperdine on Friday, said. "I've been a head coach for 27 years and I've had some really good groups. But in terms of people, I don't think I've had a better group than this. They've been great to work with. You hate to see it come to an end for them."

Pepperdine's resilience shone through in the defensive slogfest, especially in the second half as the Waves' defense held USD to shooting 12.5% from the field and just three made field goals — all of which came from beyond the arc. When San Diego's offense stalled and left the door open for the Waves to get back in the game, Pepperdine obliged with a 10-0 run in the final five minutes and, critically, by forcing three USD turnovers in the final four minutes. 

"Defensively, that was an incredible effort by our guys to hold them to such a low percentage," Graduate student guard Ethan Anderson said of the second half. "We wanted to stay in front of them and make them shoot over us."

In a sign of things to come, both teams started cold. Pepperdine opened the game making just two of its first 10 field goal attempts and both teams failed to reach double-figures until the Toreros took a 10-6 lead at the 11:28 mark.

Once USD's offense woke up, it scored in bunches, picking apart the Waves' defense with a slew of back-cuts from Toreros' leading scorer PJ Hayes and 12 points off six Pepperdine turnovers. Trying to get things going trailing 18-8 with 8 minutes and 29 seconds to go, Jevon Porter split a pair of free throws and Michael Ajayi made a mid-range jumper to cut the deficit to single digits. Ajayi went on a 4-0 run to trim the deficit to six with four straight points from Ajayi, yet Hayes capped off his 13-point half with four late points to put USD up 34-26 at the half.

San Diego left the door open for Pepperdine during a plodding, foul-filled second half, which — aside from an 8-0 USD run off five free throws — saw neither team seize momentum for a significant stretch. In spite of three Waves playing with four fouls, Porter scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half, Moore led the way with timely shots and Ajayi's eight second-half rebounds helped keep the Waves in the game.

Trailing by 10 with 6 minutes and 36 seconds remaining, Pepperdine made one final surge with a 10-0 run, which was sparked by seven points from Moore. The sophomore hit a three and then split a pair of free throws, then Jevon Porter's second three of the night made it a one-possession game with 2 minutes and 21 seconds remaining.

On San Diego's next possession, McKinney used all of the shot clock and drove to the lane for a left-handed layup that was bound to go in, yet transfer guard Ethan Anderson met him in the paint and drew a charge that gave Pepperdine a chance to tie the game with 48 seconds left.

Porter launched a corner three on the left side that fell into the outstretched left arm of Anderson, who used all of his 6-foot frame to corral the rebound and whip a pass over his shoulder to Moore at the top of the key. Moore's game-tying three 

But on San Diego's next possession, McKinney dribbled out the clock on the left wing, gained the slightest window of separation from Anderson, then took a fadeaway three in front of his own bench.

With that shot, Pepperdine's chance to rally one more time for Romar was dashed.

"[McKinney] made two shots all game and that was one of them," Anderson said. "I'll have to be able to live with that. Over the last couple games, he hasn't made any shots. It just so happened to be my luck."

"There's such a bright future ahead of so many people on this team," Anderson added. "Our mood was up and down —  there was a lot going on this week. In terms of perseverance, I've never seen a group come together like this one did."

With the result, the Waves' final season under Romar ends with a 13-20 record and a 5-11 record in conference play. It was also the second time this season USD has beaten Pepperdine at the buzzer.

"Although we were not as successful as I would have wanted us to be, I'm grateful for the opportunity to lead a program again and help mentor and develop young people," Romar said. "I don't know what chapter the Lord is going to open again. I can't tell you what that is, but I kow that I can leave with the satisfaction that we worked hard every day. I'd like to think that some lives have changed as a result of all of us being here together for the last six years."

"That brings me a lot of gratitude."

BIG WAVES

• Malik Moore (Ventura, Calif./Heritage Christian School) led Pepperdine with 16 points — including a 3-for-7 mark from three — in 32 minutes.
• Michael Ajayi (Kent, Wash./Pierce College) had a 14-point, 15-rebound double-double, which was his 17th of the season. That mark is the third-most for a single season in Pepperdine history.
• Jevon Porter (Columbia, Mo./Father Tolton Catholic HS) chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, four blocks and a steal.

KEY STATS

• Pepperdine out-shot San Diego by making 35.4% of its field goals, compared to USD's 30.9% clip.
• During the second half, Pepperdine's defense held USD to shooting 3-for-24 (12.5%) from the floor.
• PJ Hayes led the Toreros with 15 points. USD's Wayne McKinney III, meanwhile, finished with 10 points on 2-for-11 shooting, half of which came in the final five seconds.