LONG BEACH, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (4-8) fell 81-78 in a battle at Long Beach State (3-9, 0-2 Big West) Thursday night in Long Beach.

Styles Phipps led the Waves with a career-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists.

Javon Cooley posted 17 points off the bench for Pepperdine on 7-for-9 shooting while Danilo Dozic added 15 points.

The Waves shot 31-for-53 (58.5%) from the field for the game, with the Beach shooting 53.6% (30-for-56) in an efficient offensive game for both sides.

"I thought we battled really hard," said head coach Ed Schilling. "We gave up too many turnovers and had some breakdowns against their pick-and-roll. Offensively, we shot the ball really well. Styles had a big time game, he found guys and got shots for himself. At the end of the day, the turnovers and points off turnovers is what hurt us."

Pepperdine's offense was in rhythm early, with Phipps beginning the game with a layup before a triple from Dozic. Another Phipps basket and a three from Yonatan Levy gave the Waves a 10-4 lead at the first media timeout.

The lead got to as large as eight for the Waves in the opening 10 minutes, with back-to-back makes from Cooley bringing the lead to 14-6.

The Beach began to chip away, eventually tying the game at 27 which was answered with back-to-back triples from Phipps and Clark to maintain the advantage for the Waves. A mini 5-0 spurt gave the Beach their first lead of the game at 36-35 with 1:52 to play in the half.

Levy notched the final bucket of the half, giving the Waves a one-point lead at the break at 37-36.

The Waves shot 16-for-25 from the field in the opening half, led by Phipps who was 6-for-7 from the floor. Phipps had a game-high 13 points, six rebounds and three assists at the half.

The second half started fast offensively, with the score pushing to 47-47 less than five minutes in. Dozic began the half with a hit from deep for the Waves with Stosic converting a three-point play soon after.

The back-and-forth play continued, with another three from Levy giving the Waves a one-point lead at 52-51. Dozic continued his high-scoring output from deep, hitting his third triple of the afternoon at the 9:47 mark to tie the game at 58.

Phipps then had back-to-back three-point plays for Pepperdine, giving the Waves a 68-64 lead with 6:05 to play. 

The Beach responded with a run to take a 72-70 lead soon after following a three-pointer from Shaquil Bender. Back and forth scoring ensued, with a Phipps free throw making it a 78-76 lead for the Beach with 1:17 to play.

The Beach split a pair of free throws next, with Dozic converting a layup to put Pepperdine back down by one point with 43 seconds to play. The Waves got a stop but were unable to score on the offensive end right after, forcing a defensive foul with 10 seconds to play.

Long Beach knocked down both attempts, to go ahead 81-78, and the Waves attempt to tie at the buzzer rolled off the rim, giving the Beach the home victory.

GAME NOTES

• Styles Phipps posted a career-high 25 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists.
• Phipps shot 10-for-15 from the field.
• Javon Cooley logged 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting while collecting five rebounds.
• Danilo Dozic recorded 15 points while connecting on a season-high three triples.
• Yonatan Levy posted eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
• Luka Vudragovic, Pavle Stosic and Stefan Cicic each hit their lone field goal attempt of the game.
• Pepperdine outrebounded the Beach, 29-21. 
• The Waves assisted on 15 baskets for the game, the team's highest output since Nov. 18 vs. New Orleans.
• The Waves .585 field goal percentage was its highest of the season against a Division I opponent.
• Pepperdine's eight made three-pointers match its second-highest total this season.

The Waves close out the non-conference slate at home against Rice on Saturday with tip-off set for 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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