MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (5-8) picked up an 84-62 victory over Rice (6-7) Saturday night from Firestone Fieldhouse in the team's final non-conference game of the season.

The Waves knocked down a season-high 13 looks from three-point range in the win, with a season-best 54.2% (13-for-24) shooting percentage from deep.

Aaron Clark led the Waves with 25 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Clark was 4-for-6 shooting from distance in the effort.

Javon Cooley added 15 points for the Waves which featured hitting 4-of-5 looks from deep, including a 3-for-3 mark in the second half. Danilo Dozic contributed a pair of triples to finish with 10 points while Yonatan Levy added eight points and seven boards.

The Waves held a 36-29 lead at the half which they quickly extended to a 14-point advantage early in the second half, leading by double-digits for the majority of the final 20 minutes.

"I was really pleased with how hard we played and that all 11 players that were in uniform played and positively contributed tonight," said head coach Ed Schilling. "Rice has several very good shooters. I thought we did a nice job on them and defending the three-point line, holding them to 5-for-20 from three. It was a great team win."

The Waves jumped out to an early 13-8 lead following a Levy hit from three after the sophomore began the game with a three-point play. David Mager got in on the action next with an and-one conversion, but the Owls would answer with a pair of triples which gave them a 20-18 lead.

The Waves' offense continued to convert at a high clip, with Luka Vudragovic nailing his first look of the game from deep which was followed by five straight points from Clark, putting Pepperdine ahead 28-22 with 6:43 remaining. Pepperdine would be shut out for over four minutes of game time next, but the Waves defense held firm, allowing just one field goal during the span.

The Owls dominated the offensive glass in the first half but several putbacks and second chance opportunities came to nothing as Rice shot 9-for-36 from the field in the first half while corralling 13 offensive rebounds.

Pepperdine got back on the board with a Vladimir Sudar three, and a 5-0 spurt to end the half via a Cooley three and Stefan Cicic basket brought the score to 36-29 in favor of Pepperdine at the break. 10 different players scored for the Waves in the half, led by Clark's eight points.

The Waves came out strong on both sides of the ball in the second half, with Dozic knocking down a pair of three-pointers in the opening three minutes with Clark and Phipps also hitting shots. Another Clark field goal made it five of six offensive possessions ending in points to begin the half, as the Waves led 48-34 with 16:42 to play.

Rice attempted to chip away, with the Pepperdine offense continuing to convert as Phipps and Cooley got it going from mid-range, with a Cooley hit making it a game-high 15 point lead at 58-43 with 12:45 to play.

The Owls eventually used a 7-0 run to bring it back to an eight-point game with under nine minutes to play, but the Waves offense caught fire to put the game out of reach. Cooley connected from deep which was followed by a Levy layup, putting the home side up by 11 with 7:14 to go. 

Cooley then nailed back-to-back threes with Clark draining the next to make it a 16-point game with under four minutes to play. Clark posted an 8-0 individual run with two free throws and another three, making it a 79-58 Pepperdine advantage 2:21 to play.

The Waves held the Owls to 1-for-7 shooting from three in the second half, halting any chances of a comeback down the stretch. Phipps and Clark each knocked down a pair of free throws in the closing stages, pushing the Waves to the 84-62 win.

Game Notes

• Aaron Clark posted a game-high 25 points while knocking down four of six looks from three-point distance.
• Clark added six rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals.
• Javon Cooley logged 15 points and four rebounds, connecting on four of five looks from downtown.
• Cooley has averaged 16.3 points per game on 18-for-26 shooting across his past three efforts.
• Yonatan Levy recorded eight points, seven rebounds and two assists.
• Styles Phipps added eight points with a game-high six assists in the win.
• Danilo Dozic registered 10 points and three assists.
• Dozic was one of three Waves to hit multiple threes in the game.
• Stefan Cicic posted seven points while making all three of his field goal attempts.
• Vladimir Sudar and Luka Vudragovic each knocked down a triple off the bench.
• The Waves shot a season-high 54.2% from three-point range.
• Pepperdine's 13 made three-pointers marked a new season-high.
• The Waves have shot over 45% from the field in three straight efforts.
• The rebounding battle was even at 37, with the Waves collecting 27 on the defensive glass while the Owls had just 19 defensive rebounds.
• Pepperdine was 13-for-16 from the free throw line (.813).
• The Waves improve to 4-4 at home this season.

The Waves return to action on Sunday, Dec. 28, playing host to No. 7 Gonzaga at 5 p.m. from Firestone Fieldhouse to open West Coast Conference play.

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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