MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (6-14, 1-6 WCC) earned its first conference victory of the season with a 67-63 win over Portland (9-11, 2-5 WCC) Wednesday night from Firestone Fieldhouse.

The game was within two possessions in its entirety, with the largest lead for either side being a six-point advantage in the final two minutes for the Waves.

Aaron Clark paced the scoring for both teams with 18 points to go along with a career-high eight rebounds and team-best four assists.

Styles Phipps posted 16 points and six boards for the Waves to go with a season-high four steals, with Yonatan Levy adding 11 points and five boards.

"I thought we played extremely hard on the defensive end and got some key stops to seal the game," said head coach Ed Schilling. "It was a good team win."

Levy got the scoring started for the Waves with the first four points from the home side, as the Waves' first field goal came over four minutes in from the sophomore. This began an 8-0 run for Pepperdine as Clark and Phipps each converted and-one opportunities after getting fouled on a made basket. 

The rest of the first half did not see either team with a run greater than three points before being answered, with the next 16 field goals being truly back and forth. David Mager provided a spark off the bench for the Waves with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, knocking down a pair of threes in the half. 

After a Mager three gave Pepperdine a 32-29 advantage in the final minute, the Pilots' Joel Foxwell banked in a three at the buzzer to fittingly end the half in a 32-32 deadlock. Mager led the Waves with his eight first half points while Cameron Williams paced all scorers with 11 at the break.

The back and forth scoring continued as the score was knotted at 40-all at the 15-minute mark following a Clark layup. The Pilots then accounted for the next two scoring trips to temporarily end the stretch, going ahead 44-40, before Phipps quickly answered with his first three-point hit of the contest.

Portland's largest lead of the game came at the 7:26 mark, with the Pilots going ahead 54-49 from a Williams hit from downtown. Pepperdine tied the score with another bucket from Clark before a three from Levy brought the game to a 54-54 scoreline with five minutes to play.

Portland got the lead back to four with the next four points, but the Waves were able to hold strong defensively for the remainder of the game, forcing six straight misses as Portland ended the game on a 1-for-9 stretch from the field featuring two turnovers.

With defense being the catalyst, Pepperdine retook the lead with a 10-0 run offensively, with Clark accounting for eight of the ten points. He began with a pull-up three to cut the lead to one, eventually tying the score with a free throw. Following a Phipps layup, Clark netted four straight with two more free throws and a tip-in layup, giving Pepperdine a 66-60 lead with 1:26 to play.

Pepperdine got the stops it needed in the final minute, with Portland nailing a three to bring it back to 66-63, but the game was sealed at the free throw line with a make from Javon Cooley, bringing the final score to 67-63.

The Waves shot over 50% from the field in the second half (13-for-25), with Clark going for 12 points (4-for-6 FG) and five rebounds in the second half.

Game Notes

• Aaron Clark posted a game-high 18 points while securing a career-high eight rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists.
• Clark had three offensive rebounds, with two being tip-in layups.
• Styles Phipps scored 16 points to go along with six rebounds and a season-high four steals.
• Yonatan Levy posted 11 points and five boards while shooting 4-for-5 from the field.
• David Mager continued to add scoring off the bench for the Waves, netting eight points on 3-for-4 shooting with a pair of triples.
• Danilo Dozic registered nine points and four rebounds.
• Javon Cooley drew the start and logged five points and five rebounds.
• The Waves scored 13 second chance points off of nine offensive rebounds.
• Pepperdine ended the game on an 18-9 run over the final 6:24 of action.
• The Waves shot 45.3% from the field, the highest clip in a WCC contest this season.
• Pepperdine's nine steals were its most since having 11 against Northern Colorado on Nov. 15

The Waves will head to No. 9 Gonzaga next, taking on the Bulldogs next Wednesday (Jan. 21) at 6 p.m. in Spokane, Wash. 

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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