Pepperdine men’s basketball lost to Stephen F. Austin by a score of 63-60 on Friday night at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, California. The game was decided in the final second when Narit Chotikavanic hit a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left, giving the Lumberjacks the win.
Aaron Clark led Pepperdine with a career-high 30 points, making 9 of 12 shots from the field and converting five out of six three-point attempts. Danilo Dozic contributed 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Javon Cooley added six points and had a game-high eight rebounds along with two blocks.
Stephen F. Austin started slowly from long range but improved late in the game, making four of their last seven three-pointers. Most of their closing points came from beyond the arc.
Pepperdine began strong offensively, scoring 22 points in the first 11 minutes and building a double-digit lead after Danilo Dozic made a three-pointer for a 22-9 advantage midway through the first half. The Waves maintained their lead into halftime, going ahead 32-24 at the break.
The Lumberjacks responded after halftime by hitting five of their first six shots and taking their first lead since early in the game. Pepperdine struggled with shooting in the second half except for Clark, who scored most of his team’s points during that period and kept them close.
With under two minutes remaining, Pepperdine led 60-56 after free throws by Clark and baskets from his teammates. However, Stephen F. Austin’s Keon Thompson tied it up with back-to-back jumpers before Chotikavanic sealed the win with his fifth three-pointer of the night as time expired.
Head coach Ed Schilling said: “We battled really hard and had a terrific performance by AC (Aaron Clark). At the end of the game, we got them to miss the shot with the clock running down and got the rebound. Unfortunately, things didn’t break right for us in the waning seconds.”
Other notable performances included Styles Phipps scoring nine points along with six rebounds and three assists; he has reached at least nine points and three assists in every game this season.
The Waves limited Stephen F. Austin to just under 40% shooting from the field—the first time they have held an opponent below that mark this season—but were outscored by SFA’s bench players by a wide margin.
Pepperdine will next play Fresno State at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert as part of the Acrisure Series on Wednesday at 4 p.m., airing on CBS Sports Network.
According to program records, Pepperdine men’s basketball has appeared in 13 NCAA postseasons and won several conference championships over its history while producing numerous All-Americans and NBA players.
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