MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (2-2) overcame a double-digit second half deficit to force overtime against Northern Colorado (3-0), eventually falling in the extra frame by a score of 88-81 Saturday night from Firestone Fieldhouse.

Styles Phipps knocked down a step-back three pointer with 15 seconds remaining in regulation to force the overtime, as Phipps led the Waves with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds on the night.

Aaron Clark scored a career-high 20 points in the effort to go along with a game-high four steals and three assists. Javon Cooley registered 13 points and five boards for the Waves while Luka Vudragovic added 10 points off the bench.

"We had some good shots that didn't fall for us tonight," said head coach Ed Schilling. "Although we put ourselves in a position to win the game, we didn't execute in some crucial situations. Hopefully we will learn some things from this overtime game that will pay dividends in the coming games."

The Bears jumped out to an early lead with Quinn Denker scoring the first three field goals of the game for either side before the Waves got going through Phipps and Clark. Northern Colorado led 15-7 in the early stages with Luka Vudragovic then cutting it down to a three-point deficit for Pepperdine with four three throws and a hit from downtown in a 90-second span which made it a 19-16 game.

Pepperdine struggled from the field in the first half, going 11-for-30 while Northern Colorado converted 17 of their 31 looks from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Clark had four of the 11 makes for the Waves with instant offense off the bounce as Vudragovic eventually led Pepperdine with 10 points at the break. 

Northern Colorado held the Waves to two points in the final three minutes of the half, using a closing 8-0 run to take a 41-31 lead into halftime.

The Waves began to mount the comeback early in the second half, with Danilo Dozic hitting from distance with Clark then notching a steal and converting an and-one right after for a 6-0 run within 10 seconds for the Waves. The two-man game between Clark and Phipps continued to prove strong for the Waves, as the duo combined for 18 of 20 points for the Waves from the 17:39 to 8:28 mark in the half.

Pavle Stosic gave big minutes for the Waves down the stretch, with a pair of baskets including an and-one conversion which brought the Northern Colorado lead down to 61-59 with just over seven minutes remaining. It was Cooley's turn next, hitting a pair of free throws before finishing off a feed from Clark which gave the Waves their first lead of the contest at 63-61 with 5:45 remaining.

The teams traded baskets and free throws down the stretch, with the Waves taking back the lead with 1:17 to play on a Cooley layup. The Bears answered with a layup from Brock Wisne to take a 71-10 lead in the final minute, as Pepperdine converted one of two from the line to even the score with 39 seconds left.

Northern Colorado got its look from three, as Zach Bloch knocked down a big jumper to make it a 74-71 game with 24 seconds to go. Phipps answered right back, hitting a step back three-pointer with 15 seconds to go which evened the score at 74. The Bears did not call timeout and the Waves defense held as Clark deflected a pass which led to Denker heaving from close to half court at the buzzer, bringing the game to overtime.

In the overtime, the Bears got out to an 82-74 lead with an 8-0 spurt to begin the extra frame. Pepperdine did not score in the first three minutes of overtime, but was able to cut the lead down to three following a Cooley hit from distance and layup from Phipps.

After getting a pivotal stop, Bloch knocked down another three for the Bears which put the game back to a six-point lead with under 30 seconds remaining. Northern Colorado was able to see out the victory with Denker knocking down the final free throws on his way to a game-high 26 points.

The final score read 88-81 as the Bears overcame 20 turnovers with an efficient 30-for-62 from the field to earn the road win.

Game Notes

• Styles Phipps scored a career-high 22 points to go along with career-best ten rebounds.
• Phipps is the second Wave to have a double-double this season, joining Yonatan Levy.
• Phipps added three assists and three steals while hitting the game-tying three-pointer which sent the game into overtime.
• Aaron Clark had a career-high 20 points to go along with four steals and three assists.
• Javon Cooley recorded 13 points and five rebounds while adding two steals in 35 minutes.
• Luka Vudragovic added 10 points off the bench to go with six boards.
• Danilo Dozic posted nine points and two assists.
• Pavle Stosic contributed five points and three rebounds to go along with two blocks and a steal defensively.
• Yonatan Levy posted two points, three rebounds and an assist while drawing his fourth straight start.
• The Waves had 15 offensive rebounds for the game, marking the fourth consecutive effort with at least 15 offensive boards to begin the season.
• Pepperdine had a season-high 11 steals as a team.
• The Waves were 20-for-30 from the free throw line while the Bears knocked down 19 of 25 from the line.

The Waves will remain home to take on New Orleans this upcoming Tuesday at 6 p.m. from Firestone Fieldhouse.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Pepperdine men's basketball has made 13 NCAA postseason appearances while earning 12 WCC Regular-Season Championships and three WCC Tournament Championships in its history. This success has spanned multiple decades, with the Waves most recently winning the 2021 CBI Tournament. The program has also seen 19 All-Americans along with 19 NBA players, which included a streak of 34 consecutive seasons with at least one alum on an NBA roster from 1976-2011.

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