Pepperdine University
11-14, 4-3WCC
Long Beach State
17-9, 2-3Big West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach State | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| Pepperdine | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
11/14/2026 8:40:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
MALIBU, Calif. — No. 15 Pepperdine water polo (11-14, 4-3 WCC) was defeated 20-15 by No. 13 Long Beach State (17-9, 2-3 Big West) in the regular season finale from Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
The Waves held an early lead, going ahead 6-3 after the first quarter of play, with the Beach winning the final three frames to secure the victory.
Tyce di Pretoro led the Waves with three goals to go along with an assist. Erik Ionescu logged a four-point effort with two goals and two assists, while Csanád Bella, Brian Barnuevo and Hunter Danko each added a pair of goals offensively as well.
Prior to the game, Pepperdine honored Jackson Benners, Conor Brough, Nick Bryant, Jon Carcarey, Woden Chompff, Milo Joseph, Reed Pantaleon and Adam Yost as part of senior day festivities ahead of their final home game in Malibu.
"The team came out firing on all cylinders and it was a great first quarter and we went up six to three," noted head coach Merrill Moses. "Unfortunately, Long Beach outscored us in every quarter after that. There are definitely some good moments in this game that we can use to help us build momentum into the conference championship next weekend. We know we cannot let teams go on runs and have to lock teams down defensively if we want to be successful. We will learn from our mistakes and are looking forward to playing Santa Clara in the first round of our conference tournament next Friday."
Pepperdine got out to a fast start, with four goals in the opening 3:05 of the game, as Barnuevo fired in a five-meter penalty on the Waves' first possession of the game. Csanád Bella got on the scoresheet next, with Danko and di Pretoro following suit as the Waves led 4-2 in the early going.
The Beach cut it back down to one, but Barnuevo and Danko netted two more before the end of the period, as the Waves doubled up the visitors in the first eight minutes, leading 6-3.
Long Beach never let the lead get above three, making it 6-5 three minutes into the second quarter. Pepperdine answered as Jackson Benners and Owen Tift netted tallies on consecutive possessions to restore the three-goal lead, with Bella then making it a 9-7 Waves lead with his second of the game later in the frame.
However, the Beach were able to tie it up just before the half, scoring on their final two opportunities before the break. The two sides went into halftime tied at nine goals apiece.
Long Beach took its first lead of the game with the first tally after the half, with Ionescu answering right back to tie the score at 10. Pepperdine would then be held without a goal for six minutes, as Long Beach built up a 13-10 advantage during that span.
The Waves kept in the fight with goals from di Pretoro and Joseph bringing it 13-12, but a buzzer-beater gave Long Beach a two-goal lead heading into the final eight minutes.
The Beach held firm defensively to begin the fourth, shutting the Waves out until the 4:20 mark, scoring three times before a di Pretoro goal made it 17-13. Pepperdine could not string together a run to complete the late comeback, as late goals from Ionescu and Brough were answered to bring the final score to 20-15 in favor of Long Beach.
Pepperdine earned the No. 4 seed in the WCC Tournament and will take on Santa Clara in the WCC Quarterfinals next Friday (Nov. 20) at 11:30 a.m. The semifinals will be held Saturday with the WCC Championship game set for Sunday, Nov. 22 at noon.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE WATER POLO
Pepperdine water polo has seen success spanning decades under Terry Schroeder who gave the reins to Merrill Moses following the 2023 season. Highlighted by its national championship in 1997 with Moses as the starting goalie, the Waves have reached the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions and recently won the inaugural WCC Regular Season Championship in 2023. Overall, the program has seen 67 athletes garner All-American honors while boasting a winning record in 37 of 51 seasons.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine water polo news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMWP.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Brian Barnuevo
7:35
Csanád Bella
6:29
Oliver Sudar
6:06
Hunter Danko
5:49
Zalan Nagy
5:22
Tyce di Pretoro
4:55
Corbin Stanley
2:10
Brian Barnuevo
1:48
Hunter Danko
0:25
Gabi Acosta
6:27
Marc Frigola
4:58
Jackson Benners
4:41
Owen Tift
4:06
Gabi Acosta
3:47
Gabi Acosta
2:01
Csanád Bella
1:46
Oliver Sudar
0:36
Corbin Stanley
0:02
Artur Diaz
7:20
Erik Ionescu
7:05
Artur Diaz
6:51
Gabi Acosta
5:23
Corbin Stanley
2:01
Tyce di Pretoro
1:12
Milo Joseph
0:36
Corbin Stanley
0:00
Oliver Sudar
6:08
Oliver Sudar
5:20
Gabi Acosta
4:38
Tyce di Pretoro
4:20
Marc Frigola
4:00
Gabi Acosta
3:20
Erik Ionescu
3:04
Marc Frigola
2:35
Conor Brough
2:22
