LAS VEGAS — Pepperdine men's basketball (9-23, 4-14 WCC) fell 77-68 to Portland (14-18, 6-12 WCC) in the first round of the WCC Tournament from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas Thursday night.

The Pilots jumped out to an early 15-4 lead and never trailed in the contest, as the Waves cut it down to a two-point deficit early in the second half but were not able to overcome the Portland advantage throughout.

The Waves had kept within striking distance down the stretch, trailing by single digits with just over three minutes remaining, but finished the game down three starters due to injury and foul trouble.

Javon Cooley posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Pepperdine, with Styles Phipps adding 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists

Jermaine Ballisager Webb led the way for Portland with 22 points, going 5-for-7 from three-point range after hitting just 16 shots from deep throughout the regular season.

"Winning three of our last five games showed the competitiveness and improvement of our team," said head coach Ed Schilling. "Aaron Clark got hurt late in the first half. We cut their lead to two points early in the second half, but couldn't get over hump with Aaron unable to play. These guys played their hearts out all year."

Portland jumped out to a double-digit lead early, hitting on their first three looks from three-point range, which gave them leads of 11-2 and 15-4. Pepperdine called timeout 3:10 into the contest.

A Cooley three was then answered by back-to-back Portland baskets, giving them their largest lead of the game at 12, 19-7.

Pepperdine answered with an 8-0 run, as Phipps drained his first look from distance before assisting on a lob to Stefan Cicic, getting the Waves back on track with a 19-15 deficit.

The teams traded baskets with back-to-back triples from Phipps and David Mager bringing it back to three at 29-26 with 8:21 to go in the half, as Pepperdine eventually got it to one at 32-31 following another Cooley three.

The Waves eventually trailed 44-38 at halftime, as the Waves shot 13-for-31 from the field in the half. Cooley led all scorers with 12 points on 5-for-6 from the field, as each team hit five triples in the opening stanza.

Pepperdine came out with consecutive baskets from Cicic and Phipps to cut the lead down to two at 44-42, but Portland then used a 10-0 run to rebuild their back up to a dozen at 56-44. Pepperdine was held scoreless for over three minutes during the run before Cooley's third triple of the game stalled the spurt.

Aaron Clark logged seven points in the first half for the Waves but sustained an injury on a hard drive which kept him out of the final 15 minutes of the game.

Both teams struggled offensively down the stretch in the second half, but Portland matched every Pepperdine point, with the deficit being cut shortly to six following a Nikola Radovanovic three with 10:14 to play.

The Waves were 3-for-15 from distance in the half as the cold shooting prevented the hopes of a comeback. Portland scored 33 points in the half on 11-for-25 from the field, but did enough defensively to preserve their lead.

Phipps and Yonatan Levy fouled out in the closing minutes, but the lead was still single digits with three minutes remaining. 

Layups from Dante Censori-Hercules and James O'Donnell in the final three minutes sealed the win for Portland, as Pepperdine managed just three field goals in the final five minutes while missing a majority of its normal rotation.

Portland eventually prevailed 77-68, advancing into tomorrow's second round contest against Washington State.

GAME NOTES

• Javon Cooley posted 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds.
• Cooley recorded his first double-double with the Waves in the effort.
• Styles Phipps recorded 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
• Phipps closed the season scoring in double figures in six straight contests.
• Yonatan Levy registered five points, four rebounds and four assists.
• David Mager added eight points and a steal off the bench.
• Nikola Radovanovic scored a career-high seven points in the effort.
• Stefan Cicic logged six points, four rebounds and a block.
• Pavle Stosic collected a team-high four offensive rebounds, totaling five points and six boards.
• The Waves pulled down 19 offensive rebounds, its most in a conference-game this season.
• Pepperdine's 70 field goal attempts marked its most in a regulation game against a Division I opponent this season.
• The Waves assisted on 16 of 25 baskets.
• Pepperdine had just 10 turnovers while forcing 12 from the Pilots.
• The Waves outrebounded Portland, 43-41.
• Ten different Waves recorded points in the game.
• The two teams combined to go 22-39 from the free throw line.

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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