MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (1-0) heads to No. 12 UCLA (1-0) for its first road matchup of the season Friday night.

The contest is set for 7:30 p.m. from Pauley Pavilion with coverage on Big Ten Network. 

Game tickets are available for purchase here and live stats available here. Alumni are encouraged to register for the Los Angeles Waves Tailgate beginning at 5 p.m., with more information found here.
 

LAST TIME OUT

• Pepperdine defeated Life Pacific by a score of 88-80 in the season opener on Monday in Malibu, with five Waves scoring in double figures.
• Aaron Clark led the Waves with 14 points and four steals while Javon Cooley and Pavle Stosic each netted 13 points.
• The Waves are one of four teams in the nation to collect 19 or more offensive rebounds in a game while shooting over 40-percent from three-point distance (10-for-25).
• It marked the fourth straight season-opening win for the program.
• The 19 offensive rebounds marked the most in a game since collecting 22 against William & Mary on Dec. 21, 2023.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Waves hold an all-time record of 4-21 against the Bruins which features a 3-19 mark on the road in the series.
• The most recent meeting saw a 100-53 win for the Bruins at home on Nov. 23, 2022.
• Two seasons prior, the teams played to a three-overtime thriller in San Diego on Nov. 27, 2020, as the Bruins eventually prevailed 107-98.
• The Waves' most recent victory came on Nov. 18, 2001, securing an 85-78 win on the road.

SCOUTING THE BRUINS

• UCLA comes in at No. 12 in the AP Poll, having brought back its top-two returning scorers from last season in Tyler Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr.
• The Bruins earned an 80-74 win at home over Eastern Washington on Monday to open the new campaign.
• New Mexico transfer Donovan Dent led the way in the opener with 21 points and nine assists.
• Dent was named to the Naismith and Bob Cousy Award Watch Lists prior to the season.
• Bilodeau tabbed Karl Malone Award Watch List recognition while Dailey Jr. was named to the Julius Erving Award Watch List. 

DEBUTING IN STYLES

• Sophomore guard Styles Phipps drew the start at point guard for the Waves in the season opener, totaling nine points with seven rebounds and five assists.
• Phipps is one of 13 underclassmen in the nation to have a nine-point, seven-rebound, five-assist effort in the country this season.
• He added a steal and two offensive rebounds while knocking down all three free throw attempts.

A MAGER SPARK

• Redshirt junior guard David Mager recorded a career-high 12 points, four rebounds and a steal to spark the Waves off the bench against Life Pacific.
• Mager contributed eight points on an 11-0 run upon entering in the first half, eventually logging a game-best plus-minus of +24.
• Mager knocked down two of five looks from downtown, marking the first time in his career that he's connected on multiple triples.

WELCOMED RETURNS

• Graduate student Javon Cooley and redshirt sophomore Aaron Clark each returned after missing the 2024-25 season due to injury in their first seasons at Pepperdine.
• Clark had a team-high 14 points in the win over Life Pacific, adding a game-high four steals.
• Cooley registered 13 points and five rebounds on 5-for-9 shooting while logging 30 minutes in his first game action since the 2024 MAAC Tournament with Marist.

SERBIA TO MALIBU

• Three of the Waves' native Serbians made an instant impact in the season opener.
• Redshirt sophomore Pavle Stosic posted career-bests of 13 points and seven rebounds on 6-for-10 shooting, corralling a game-high four offensive boards.
• Sophomore Danilo Dozic drew the start and logged 11 points while dishing out three assists and knocking down two of his four looks from three-point range.
• Freshman Luka Vudragovic also earned the start in his first collegiate game, scoring eight points while hitting on two of his four three-point looks.

JOHNY ON THE SPOT

• Freshman Nikola 'Johny' Radovanovic posted four points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench for the Waves against Life Pacific in his collegiate debut.
• He is one of six players in the country this season to log a four-point, three-rebound, three-assist effort in under 12 minutes of action.
• Among those six, he was the only to maintain a 1.000 field goal percentage.

BRUIN ROYALTY

• Pepperdine assistant coach and UCLA legend Tyus Edney returns to Pauley Pavilion.
• Edney etched his name into UCLA lore with his game-winning buzzer-beater over Missouri in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament, as the Bruins would go on to win the National Championship in Edney's senior season.
• A Three-time First Team All-Pac-10 selection, Edney still ranks 22nd on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 1,515 points.
• He went on to serve as an assistant coach with the Bruins from 2017-19.
• Ed Schilling also has ties to the UCLA program, having served as an assistant coach for the Bruins from 2013-17.

FAREWELL FIRESTONE

• This season marks the 53rd and final season with Firestone Fieldhouse as the home for Pepperdine Basketball.
• The Waves opened the arena on November 30, 1973 with a matchup against Pacific before earning the first win in the building on 12/20/73 versus Chicago State.
• Pepperdine will move into the Mountain at Mullin Park for the 2026-27 season.
• The Mountain is a new 3,600-seat arena that will give Pepperdine a state-of-the-art competition venue, complete with a 360-degree high-definition scoreboard, VIP and hospitality spaces, and custom team locker rooms. 

WAVES IN THE NBA

• Former Pepperdine great Doug Christie enters his first full season as head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
• Christie was a former first round NBA draft pick after starring in three seasons for the Waves from 1989-92.
• 2025 graduate Stefan Todorovic begins the 2025-26 season with the Maine Celtics of the NBA G-League after being selected 7th in the G League draft following a standout summer league with the Philadelphia 76ers.

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.

TICKETS
For more information on ticket packages and to purchase tickets for upcoming home events, visit here.

FOLLOW
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