MALIBU, Calif. — Pepperdine men's basketball (9-22, 4-14 WCC) picked up an 88-79 victory on senior day over Washington State (12-19, 7-11 WCC) to close out the regular season Saturday evening from Firestone Fieldhouse.

Graduate students Javon Cooley and Preston Phillips were honored pregame as part of senior day ceremonies, as the game also marked the final West Coast Conference game at Firestone Fieldhouse.

The Waves led the entire way while eventually getting out to a 20-point lead in the second half, shooting 21-for-24 as a team from the free throw line with 18 makes coming in the second half to maintain the lead.

Stefan Cicic led the way with his first career double-double, notching a career-high 23 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Cicic added a pair of assists and steals in 35 minutes, with his 10 field goals made marking a new career-best.

Aaron Clark scored 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists, marking the fifth time this season that a pair of Waves scored 20 or more points in the same contest.

Styles Phipps added 16 points, nine assists and five steals in the effort, with Cooley also getting in double figures with 10, and Yonatan Levy registering nine points and eight boards.

"Beating Washington State was a great way to finish the regular season," noted head coach Ed Schilling following the win. "I thought we did a great job making plays for each other. Also, we defended their high powered offense well holding them to 39% shooting for the game."

The Cougars first basket of the game gave them a 3-2 lead early on, which was the only lead they would hold for the entirety of the contest. Levy and Clark got the offense going early with two baskets each to build up a 10-6 lead, while the Pepperdine defense was suffocating early.

The Cougars did not have their first two-point field make until the 11:33 mark of the half, beginning 0-for-9. This allowed Pepperdine to build on their lead, as Pavle Stosic and David Mager each came off the bench and immediately hit three-pointers, with a Cooley three making it 23-15 with 8:23 to go in the half. 

Cicic then notched back-to-back scores to make it a 7-0 run and 12-point lead at 27-15, as Washington State then had its largest run of the game, a 9-0 spurt which eventually made it 29-26 with 2:09 left in the half. 

Pepperdine responded with the final five points before the half, taking a 36-28 advantage into the locker room. Seven different Waves recorded field goals in the half, led by Cicic's nine points. Both Cicic and Levy had seven rebounds at the break, as the Waves held a 28-20 advantage on the boards early on.

Levy hit a three immediately out of the half and the Waves never looked back offensively, maintaining the double-digit lead throughout. Cicic was dominant, going 6-for-8 from the field in the final 20 minutes for 14 points as Phipps continued to find the Pepperdine big man on his way to a nine-assist effort.

The Waves forced a shot clock violation which turned into a Clark floater, before another steal on the ensuing possession led to a Cooley dunk in transition, capping a 7-0 run as the Cougars called timeout trailing 52-35 with 13:34 to play.

Phipps and Cicic continued to keep the offense in rhythm, as two straight Cicic buckets were followed by a Clark fast break layup, which gave the Waves their largest lead at 63-43 with 8:36 to play. 

Washington State picked up its pace and efficiency offensively down the stretch, scoring 36 in the final 8:30 after being held to 43 points up until that point. The Cougars shot 28-for-71 from the field for the game.

The Waves maintained the lead, knocking down 18 of 20 free throws in the second half, led by Clark's eight. Cicic, Phipps and Clark were all in double figures in the second half alone, as the Waves capped the regular season with an 88-79 win.

GAME NOTES

• Stefan Cicic logged a career-high in points (23) and rebounds (10) for his first career double-double.
• Cicic also blocked four shots while collecting a pair of steals on the defensive end.
• Cicic's stat line marked the fourth effort of at least 23/10/2/4/2 in the NCAA this season.
• Cicic's effort is just the second in a game this season with 20 points, eight offensive rebounds and four blocks.
• Styles Phipps scored in double figures for the fifth straight game with 16 points.
• Phipps also registered a game-high nine assists and five steals.
• Of the four instances in the NCAA this season in which a player has posted at least 16 points, nine assists, six rebounds and five steals in a single game, Phipps owns two of those efforts, each coming in the past month.
• Aaron Clark posted his 10th 20-point effort of the season, knocking down 8-of-9 looks from the charity stripe.
• Clark added seven rebounds and four assists.
• Javon Cooley scored 10 points as the fourth Wave in double figures on his senior night.
• Yonatan Levy logged nine points, eight rebounds and three steals.
• David Mager added five points and three rebounds off the bench.
• Pavle Stosic recorded five points and two boards.
• Pepperdine's 11 steals matched a season-high.
• The Waves knocked down over 20 free throws for the eighth time this season.
• Pepperdine's 17 offensive rebounds marked a season-high in conference play.
• The Waves outrebounded the Cougars 43-38.
• Pepperdine's 43 rebounds marked its most in a game this season versus a Division I opponent.
• Pepperdine blocked six shots in a game for the fifth time this season.
• The Waves' five three-pointers made was a season-low in a victory.
• Pepperdine's 31 field goals made matched a season-high against a Division I opponent, as the Waves have now scored exactly 31 field goals in four of their past five efforts.
• The Waves picked up double-digit steals and five or more blocks in a game for the first time this season.

The Waves will take on ninth-seeded Portland (13-18, 6-12 WCC) in the first round of the WCC Tournament, with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. from Orleans Arena Thursday (Mar. 5) in Las Vegas.

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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