MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (3-6) was defeated at home by Abilene Christian (6-3) Tuesday night from Firestone Fieldhouse by a score of 71-63.

The Waves trailed by 21 with under seven minutes remaining, going on a 16-1 run to cut the lead down to six in the final minute, as the Pepperdine defense held the Wildcats without a field goal for the final 6:45 of the game. The Wildcats were able to hold on despite the stalled offense in the late stages of the contest.

Styles Phipps led the way for the Waves with 19 points, four rebounds and five assists while knocking down a career-high three triples on four looks. Aaron Clark added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Waves. 

"Obviously, I am disappointed with the loss, but I was pleased with how we fought back and with how we executed the last 8-10 minutes of the game," said head coach Ed Schilling. "I believe that we can build on that."

Both teams started slow offensively as the game saw a 9-9 scoreline through the first seven-plus minutes of action. The Waves' balanced scoring output continued in the early stages of the game as Pavle Stosic, Javon Cooley, Yonatan Levy and Clark each made shots to begin.

Abilene Christian (ACU) connected on their next three looks from deep, with Cbo Newton hitting back-to-back which gave the Wildcats a 21-10 lead behind a 12-1 run. Pepperdine answered with a 10-0 run of its own, fueled by five straight points from Cooley before a Phipps' triple and Stosic layup, bringing it back to 21-20.

Another hit from deep coming from Phipps made it a 29-28 advantage for ACU with 2:30 to go in the half, with the Wildcats ending the half on a 6-0 run to take a 35-28 lead into the break. Phipps led all scorers at the half with eight points, as Pepperdine was 9-for-22 from the field in the opening 20 minutes compared to 13-for-27 for the road side.

ACU kept its momentum to begin the second half, with Bradyn Hubbard scoring seven points in the first three minutes as ACU had its first double-digit lead at 44-32, which became 51-34 with 14:12 to play. Phipps kept the Waves afloat with nine straight of Pepperdine's points, as he knocked down a three-pointer and then turned a steal into a coast-to-coast layup which brought the ACU lead down to a dozen with 12:27 to go.

Pepperdine had just two field goals in the ensuing six minutes, three-pointers from Danilo Dozic and Luka Vudragovic, as ACU pushed the lead to 68-47 with under seven minutes to play. The Pepperdine defense took over the remainder of the game, as the Wildcats would miss their final 11 attempts from the field in the game.

The Waves continued to chip away, as Clark (4-for-4), Levy (2-for-2) and Cooley (2-for-2) scored eight straight from the free throw line, before a Phipps layup made it a 69-63 game with under a minute to play. Pepperdine forced another miss, but the Wildcats were able to secure a pivotal offensive rebound which forced the Waves to foul. 

ACU knocked down its free throws to bring the lead back to eight, before forcing three-straight misses from deep for the Waves as the comeback effort fell short, with the final score reading 71-63.

Game Notes

• Styles Phipps had a game-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists.
• Phipps had a career-best three makes from distance on four attempts, shooting 7-for-12 from the field for the game.
• Aaron Clark posted 11 points with five rebounds and five assists.
• Danilo Dozic registered nine points to go with four boards.
• Javon Cooley added nine points and three boards.
• Cooley went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, bringing his season total to 39-for-41 (95.1%).
• Yonatan Levy logged four points and three rebounds off the bench.
• Luka Vudragovic recorded five points while knocking down his lone look from three.
• The Waves knocked down 19 of 25 looks from the charity stripe.
• It marked the fourth time in the last six games in which Pepperdine has made 19 or more free throws.
• The Waves attempted a season-low 45 shots from the field.
• Pepperdine knocked down six triples and have hit at least five three-pointers in every game this season.
• ACU narrowly won the rebounding battle, 29-27.

Pepperdine returns Saturday to host Vermont at 2 p.m. from Firestone Fieldhouse 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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