Box Score MALIBU – The Pepperdine men's basketball team lead the LMU Lions at halftime, but a cold-shooting second half would bury the Waves at a 69-60 final in Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
BIG WAVES

• Stefan Todorovic (Belgrade, Serbia/SMU/USF) led the Waves with 17 points, eight boards, two assists and a steal.
• Boubacar Coulibaly (Bamako, Mali/USC) added a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards to go with a block and two steals.
• Dovydas Butka (Panevezys, Lithuania) tacked on 13 points, seven boards, four assists and a steal.

 
KEY STATS

• The Waves led LMU from field goal (53%-45%) and three-point (25%-23%) range in the first half but the Lions finished the game going 50% from the field and 34% from long range compared to Pepperdine's 40% FG and 20% 3FG.
• Pepperdine led on the boards, going 38-27 while outscoring LMU 38-26 from the paint.
• The Waves had 15 turnovers to LMU's 13.

 
RECAP
The Waves led the entirety of the first half, beginning on a Butka post move to open the game. Pepperdine immediately went on a 7-0 run, capitalized by an Odum steal-and-dish to Todorovic for an easy wing three. Enjoying a .540 shooting mark from the field, the Waves used their inside advantage to lead in the boards category as well, outrebounding LMU 17-9 in the first half while also leading 20-10 for points in the paint. Pepperdine would lead by as many as 16, but the Lions went on a small run in the last two minutes of play to go into the break with a nine-point spread at 37-28 in favor of the Waves.
 
LMU came out of the locker rooms with intensity, hitting a quick three to bring the Pepperdine lead down to six, but the Waves would extend their advantage back to 12 early on. The two teams would trade buckets before the Lions began a 22-2 run to give LMU its first lead of the game with eight to play. In fact, the Waves were held scoreless for a stretch of almost four minutes as LMU's Will Johnston went on a tear, enjoying an 11-1 run on his own before Pepperdine could connect on its first field goal in six minutes.
 
UP NEXT
The Waves play at home again on Thursday against San Diego before traveling to Spokane for a date with Gonzaga Saturday.
 
STAY CONNECTED
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