MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (8-22, 3-14 WCC) cut a 19-point second half deficit down to five in the closing minutes, before eventually falling to Seattle (18-12, 7-10 WCC) by a score of 87-80 Wednesday night from Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves put up 53 second half points on 19-for-32 from the floor after the break, coming up just short in their comeback effort after being down a dozen at halftime.

David Mager led the Waves with a career-high 25 points on 5-for-9 from deep in a career-high 29 minutes. Four Waves were in double figures in total, with Styles Phipps posting 19 points and a game-high seven assists.

Javon Cooley added 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Stefan Cicic logged 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

"In the first half we were awful," said head coach Ed Schilling following the contest. "Our energy and our execution at both ends of the court was subpar. Fortunately, we responded in the second half and played much better, but not well enough to overcome our first half performance. We have one regular season game left and need to be at our best versus a tough Washington State team on Saturday at 5 p.m."

The Redhawks built out an early lead as the Waves managed two field goals and four points through the opening seven minutes of the game. Will Heimbrodt of Seattle had eight early points to help the road side build a 16-4 lead.

Pepperdine found some offense with Phipps, Cicic and Mager hitting consecutive shots to bring it back down to a six-point deficit. Trading blows, Mager knocked down back-to-back threes which eventually made it a 24-21 game with 7:20 to play in the half.

Seattle dug in defensively again in the final seven minutes, allowing just six points across that span with Cicic logging the final four of the half for Pepperdine. The Redhawks ended the half on a 6-0 spurt to take a 39-27 lead into halftime.

The Waves had 12 first half turnovers while Seattle shot over 50% from the floor. Heimbrodt (14) and Mager (12) led all scorers at the break.

Seattle kept the momentum going early in the second half, beginning on an 8-2 run to increase its lead to 18. The ensuing eight minutes saw the team's trade points back and forth across the next 18 scores of the game. With Seattle hitting the first three of the back-and-forth stretch, making it a game-high 19-point lead at 60-41 with 12:47 to play, Mager and Vudragovic answered with triples from the Waves to bring it back to 15.

Phipps then hit a three of his own and two free throws which brought it down to a ten point lead with 9:07 remaining.

Pepperdine continued to chip away as the clock ticked down, holding Seattle without a field goal from the 7:29 to 2:32 mark in the game. Cooley converted an and-one during the stretch while Aaron Clark knocked down his first three-pointer of the game. After Seattle got back on the board, another Clark three was followed by Mager's fifth three-point hit of the game which made it a 78-73 scoreline with 1:37 remaining.

The Redhawks hit a pivotal three-pointer on the next possession to get the lead back to eight, before going six-for-eight without any turnovers in the final minute to secure the win. Heimbrodt led the way with 23 points and five blocks as the Redhawks earned an eventual 87-80 victory.

GAME NOTES

• David Mager posted a career-high 25 points on 10-for-18 from the field.
• Mager has logged a new career-high scoring output in back-to-back games, while going 8-for-13 from three-point range.
• Styles Phipps posted 19 points, three rebounds and seven assists.
• It marked Phipps' seventh effort this season with 15 or more points and five or more assists.
• Stefan Cicic registered 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots while making his third consecutive start.
• Javon Cooley matched a career-high four assists to go along with 10 points and five rebounds.
• Yonatan Levy matched a game-high eight rebounds while dishing out three assists.
• Pavle Stosic matched a career-high seven rebounds, including six on the offensive glass.
• Pepperdine's 11 three-pointers made marked its third-highest total of the season.
• The Waves corralled 16 offensive rebounds, the team's most in a conference game this season.
• Pepperdine logged 33 points off its bench while the Redhawks had 17.
• The Waves shot 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the game.
• Pepperdine had just four turnovers in the second half while dishing out 13 assists.

The Waves will close out the regular season at home Saturday against Washington State at 5 p.m. in the final WCC game at 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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