MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (6-17, 1-9 WCC) fell in overtime at home to San Diego (10-13, 4-6 WCC) by a score of 92-88 Wednesday night from Firestone Fieldhouse.

Aaron Clark scored a career-high 31 points to lead the Waves, shooting from 12-for-19 from the field and 5-for-10 from downtown.

Styles Phipps filled the stat sheet with 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Danilo Dozic (17) and Javon Cooley (12) also scored in double figures for the Waves.

"We put ourselves in a position to win the game," noted head coach Ed Schilling following the loss. "Unfortunately, we missed several free throws and a couple of layups that would have clinched the game. We didn't make the plays we needed to in order to win the game."

The teams traded baskets to start as the Toreros' Assane Diop scored nine of the first 11 for the road side, putting them ahead 11-10. Dozic had the hot hand early for the Waves, knocking down a pair of three-pointers within the first two minutes. Dozic and Phipps combined for the first 12 points for the Waves.

Clark got his scoring started next with a pair of baskets which pushed a 10-0 Pepperdine run to take a 20-11 advantage. The Waves held a lead for the remainder of the half but San Diego remained within striking distance as Pepperdine never got the lead out to double digits.

The Toreros got it back to one just before the half, with Pepperdine eventually taking a 38-33 lead into the break. Dozic paced the squad with 11 first half points while Clark got into double figures with 10.

A pair of early three-pointers and a putback saw San Diego retake the lead at 41-40 less than 2:30 into the second half, prompting a quick Pepperdine timeout.The Waves responded with the offense catching fire as Dozic and Clark nailed back-to-back triples, as the duo combined with Phipps to push Pepperdine out to another lead.

Clark scored seven straight for the Waves on three straight makes, putting Pepperdine ahead 64-54 with just over seven minutes to play. A three-point play from the Toreros' Ty-Laur Johnson brought the game back to a six-point lead with just over four minutes to play. San Diego used a 9-0 spurt from the 3:24 to 2:09 mark to force another lead change as they went ahead 72-70 with 2:09 to go.

Phipps tied the game at 72 for the Waves, with San Diego responding with a made three to go ahead by three with 1:25 to play. Phipps answered right away with his lone three of the game to tie the score at 75. Both sides were not able to score in the final minute, with a long heave at the buzzer from Clark clanking off the rim, sending the game into overtime. 

Clark had 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the second half as Pepperdine shot 5-for-11 from deep as a team.

The sides traded scores to make it 83-83 with 1:45 to go in the overtime period. The Toreros hit a big three with 1:15 left next, and then got a stop which eventually forced Pepperdine to foul in the closing stages. San Diego shot 22-for-25 from the free throw line in the game, including 9-for-10 in the overtime frame, which proved the difference as they were able to see out their first road conference win of the season.

The final score read 92-88, as Clark added five late points in his effort to bring the Waves back.

Game Notes

• Aaron Clark netted a career-high 31 points on 12-for-19 from the field.
• Clark also matched a career-best with five three-pointers made.
• Styles Phipps posted 21 points to go along with nine assists and seven rebounds.
• Phipps shot 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the contest.
• Danilo Dozic registered 17 points and a matched career-best eight rebounds.
• Dozic connected on three three-pointers, marking the first time this season he's three-plus triples in back-to-back games.
• Pavle Stosic registered five points, six rebounds and a career-high three blocks.
• Javon Cooley added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals for the Waves.
• Phipps (5) and Stosic (4) combined for nine of Pepperdine's 14 offensive rebounds.
• The Waves matched a season-high six blocked shots.
• Pepperdine hit over 20 free throws in a game for the sixth time this season.
• The Waves are now 0-2 in overtime contests this season.

The Waves head north to take on Seattle (14-9, 3-7 WCC) next Wednesday with game time set for 7 p.m.

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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