BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (4-7) secured a 70-62 victory on the road at Cal State Bakersfield (4-8) Saturday night from the Icardo Center.

Aaron Clark led the Waves with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, adding a career-high five steals to go with three rebounds and three assists.

Javon Cooley caught fire for the Waves in the second half, scoring 14 of his 17 points after the break, while shooting 6-for-9 from the field in the game.

The Waves held the Roadrunners to 4-for-24 from three-point range and just 17-for-57 shooting total in the game.

"I was really pleased with our defensive execution tonight," said head coach Ed Schilling. "Holding a quality opponent to 29-percent from the field and 16-percent from three was outstanding. Also, our energy and passion was very good throughout the game."

Clark got it going early for the Waves, hitting on three of his first four looks which featured a pair from downtown, putting Pepperdine ahead 9-6 within five minutes.

The sides went back and forth until a 7-0 spurt from the Roadrunners put them ahead 19-16 with 8:04 to go in the half. The Waves responded with a 9-0 run of their own, beginning with a Clark layup after both teams had gone 90 seconds without scoring.

Pavle Stosic knocked down a pair of free throws, which was followed by a Phipps steal and layup before a Yonatan Levy hit from three to cap the run. Clark and Phipps continued to dominate the game, answering a Bakersfield basket with back-to-back makes from each, putting the Waves ahead by seven at 29-22 with 3:05 on the clock.

Both teams went scoreless again into the final minute, with Danilo Dozic knocking down a mid-range jumper before Clark closed the half with a last-second layup to put the Waves ahead 33-26 at the break.

Clark led all scorers in the first half with 14 points on 6-for-9 from the field, as the Roadrunners hit just one three-pointer in the opening 20 minutes.

Bakersfield fought back to begin the second half, with a 7-2 run in the opening three-plus minutes, quickly making it a one-possession game again.

Pepperdine's shooting ensured the Waves held the lead, with Clark knocking down a three before a Cooley triple brought it to a 41-35 advantage.

Cooley caught fire from there for the Waves, scoring 12 straight of Pepperdine's points from the 15:32 to 8:35 mark. Cooley knocked down a pair of triples in the stretch to go with three two-point field goals.

Clark got back on the board with a pair of free throws, with Cooley then knocking down a pair to give Pepperdine a 54-49 lead with 7:28 to play. Clark immediately extended the lead with a mid-range jumper.

The Waves secured their first double-digit lead of the game with another Clark bucket at the 3:21 mark, bringing the score to 62-51.

Bakersfield brought it back to within four with under two minutes to play, but a Phipps isolation layup followed by a stop on defense with three missed Roadrunner shots brought it to a fouling game in the final minute.

Yonatan Levy put the game to rest with a pair of free throws in the final minute, with Dozic putting the exclamation mark on the victory with a dunk to end the scoring.

The Waves earned the 70-62 victory behind Cooley's 14 second half points and stout defense down the stretch, holding Bakersfield to 8-for-31 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
 
Game Notes

• Aaron Clark scored a game-high 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
• Clark added a career-high five steals to go with three rebounds and three assists.
• Clark's five steals marked a game-high from any Wave this season.
• Javon Cooley logged 17 points and five rebounds.
• Cooley scored 14 points in the second half, converting five of six attempts from the field after the break.
• Styles Phipps posted 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
• Danilo Dozic added eight points and two boards for the Waves.
• Yonatan Levy registered a game-high eight rebounds to go with five points.
• The Roadrunners' .298 field-goal percentage and .167 three-point percentage each marked season-lows for a Pepperdine opponent this season.
• The Roadrunners won the rebounding margin, 38-36, while blocking 11 shots compared to zero from the Waves.
• Pepperdine held a lead for 34:16 of game time.
• The win marked the first road victory of the season for the Waves and first since Jan. 30, 2025 at San Diego.
• Pepperdine moves to 2-5 in the all-time series with Bakersfield.

 
The Waves will head to Long Beach State next for the final road non-conference test, taking on the Beach this Thursday (Dec. 18) at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

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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