MALIBU, Calif.. — Pepperdine men's basketball (3-3) was defeated by Stephen F. Austin (5-1) by a score of 63-60 Friday night from Firestone Fieldhouse.
The Lumberjacks' Narit Chotikavanic knocked down the game-winning three-pointer with .6 second remaining to lift Stephen F. Austin (SFA) to the victory.
Aaron Clark led the Waves with a career-high 30 points on 9-for-12 shooting which featured a 5-for-6 clip from three-point range.
Danilo Dozic joined Clark in double figures with 11 points to go with four rebounds and two assists.
Javon Cooley added six points and a game-high eight rebounds plus two blocks for the Waves.
SFA began the game 6-for-29 from long range, before hitting four of their final seven triples as 12 of their final 15 points came from beyond the arc.
The Waves shot 7-for-18 from distance and 13-for-14 from the free throw line for the game.
"We battled really hard and had a terrific performance by AC (
Aaron Clark)," noted head coach
Ed Schilling. "At the end of the game, we got them to miss the shot with the clock running down and got the rebound. Unfortunately, things didn't break right for us in the waning seconds."
Pepperdine's offense started off hot, pouring in 22 points in the first 11 minutes of the game. The Waves knocked down five of their first seven looks from three, fueled by Clark's hot shooting accounting for two of the makes.
A Dozic hit from three gave the Waves a 22-9 lead with 9:15 to go in the opening half.
Meanwhile, SFA began the game cold with a 1-for-14 start from three-point range, eventually shooting 10-for-35 from the field in the first half.
The Pepperdine defense allowed it to maintain its double-digit lead throughout the first half, as Clark's fourth make from deep on his fourth attempt put the Waves ahead 30-16 with 2:49 left to play in the half.
SFA used an 8-0 spurt to cut the lead down to six, before a Phipps layup closed out the half and saw the Waves take a 32-24 lead into the break.
The Lumberjacks came out of the half a new team offensively, hitting five of their first six looks to take their first lead since 5-3 at 36-35 with 16:40 to play following a Chotikavanic three.
The Waves' shooting went cold throughout the half, with Clark shooting 4-for-6 in the half with the rest of the squad at 4-for-18. Pepperdine made up for offense from the free throw line, as Clark went 7-for-8 in the second half while Dozic was 4-for-4.
Eventually trailing 47-45 with eight minutes remaining, Clark scored the next 11 for the Waves, outgunning SFA on his own to give the Waves a 56-53 lead with 3:50 to play.
After a Chotikavanic three tied the game at 56, Pepperdine got multiple stops while a basket from Phipps and two free throws from Clark gave the Waves a 60-56 lead with 1:58 to play.
SFA's Keon Thompson knocked down back-to-back key jumpers to tie the game at 60, with SFA gaining possession back with 35 seconds remaining.
The Waves got the stop on defense, with Cooley coming down hard to the floor with a highly-contested rebound which forced a travel to be called on the Waves with five seconds remaining.
In the closing seconds, Chotikavanic got a look off from the top of the key, burying his fifth three of the night to give the Lumberjacks the 63-60 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Aaron Clark scored a career-high 30 points on 9-for-12 from the field and 5-for-6 from distance.
- Clark is the tenth Wave in the past 15 seasons to record a 30-point game.
- Clark is the 6th player in the country to have a 30-point game this season on 12 or fewer shots.
- Danilo Dozic posted 11 points, four rebounds and two assists.
- Javon Cooley added six points and a game-high eight rebounds in the effort.
- Styles Phipps totaled nine points, six rebounds and three assists.
- Phipps has had at least nine points and three assists in every game this season.
- The quartet of Cooley, Clark, Dozic and Phipps each played over 36 minutes.
- The Waves held the Lumberjacks to a 26-for-68 clip from the field, the first time holding an opponent under 40% this season.
- SFA led the bench scoring margin, 26-4.
The Waves will head to Palm Desert, Calif., next to take part in the Acrisure Series at Acrisure Arena. Pepperdine will match up with Fresno State on Wednesday, with opening tip set for 4 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
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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