MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (5-14, 0-6 WCC) fell by a score of 80-60 against San Francisco (12-7, 4-2 WCC) Saturday evening from Firestone Fieldhouse.

Styles Phipps led the Waves with 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals in an all-around effort from the Pepperdine point guard. Phipps shot 10-for-12 from the free-throw line, while corralling six offensive rebounds in the game, matching a season-high from any Wave.

David Mager added 13 points off the bench for the Waves while Danilo Dozic logged 11 points and four rebounds. 

The Waves' three-point shooting saw a 3-for-21 display while the Dons knocked down 13 of 34 looks from deep, proving the difference in the contest.

"We missed a lot of shots tonight that we know we can make," said head coach Ed Schilling following the game. "Junjie Wang really stepped up for San Francisco, who was 1-6 from three in league play and 26% on the year. He caught fire shooting 7-9 from three-point range and scored 27 points. Give San Francisco credit as they made shots and played well. I thought we played hard until the end, but when we shoot 3-21 from three, it's going to be tough to win."

After San Francisco opened the game with six straight points, the Waves answered to make it 9-9 with Danilo Dozic hitting a three for the team's first field goal which was followed by makes from Phipps and Javon Cooley.

The Dons pushed ahead by seven as the Pepperdine struggled from the field in the early stages, beginning the game on a 4-for-24 stretch from the floor. After going ahead 21-14 with seven minutes to play in the half, Junjie Wang began to catch fire for the Dons, knocking down back-to-back triples to push the lead to double digits for the first time at 27-14.

Pepperdine held the Dons scoreless for the final two-plus minutes of the half, cutting the lead back down to 11 with a Dozic jumper and Phipps free throw to end the half. San Francisco led 32-21 at the break as the Waves were 1-for-12 from three-point range in the half.

San Francisco opened the second half on fire with a 10-0 run to begin which pushed the lead to 42-21 following threes from Vukasin Masic and Tyrone Riley. The Waves began to chip away, getting it back to a 14-point deficit with Dozic and Aaron Clark each scoring a pair of buckets while Phipps knocked down four free throws.

The comeback hopes were cut short as the Dons continued to shoot at a high clip from distance, with Wang hitting on four straight looks from three, as he pushed the lead to 71-48 with 4:46 remaining. San Francisco shot 8-for-17 in the second half on threes, with Wang being 4-for-4.

Phipps and Mager provided the bulk of the scoring for Pepperdine down the stretch, combining for 21 of the 39 second half points with both being in double figures in the final 20 minutes.

The final score came to 80-60 as the Dons saw out the road victory, as the game marked the lone meeting of the season between the two teams as the Waves will not make the return trip in the conference circuit.

Game Notes

• Styles Phipps registered 18 points with nine rebounds and three assists.
• Phipps has posted 18 points in consecutive efforts, while shooting 22-for-25 from the free throw line during that span.
• David Mager paced the bench unit while matching a career-high with 13 points.
• Danilo Dozic recorded 11 points to go with four rebounds and a blocked shot.
• Javon Cooley logged nine points with four boards.
• Aaron Clark registered nine points to go with four rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals.
• Pepperdine matched a season-best with just six turnovers.
• The Waves corralled 13 offensive rebounds in the game, the team's highest mark in conference play this season.
• Pepperdine shot 21-for-29 from the free throw line in the game.

The Waves will remain home to take on Portland next, matching up with the Pilots Wednesday (Jan. 14) at 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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