Pepperdine University’s men’s basketball team is set to play its final non-conference road game of the season against Long Beach State on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will take place at the Long Beach State Financial Credit Union Pyramid and will be available for streaming on ESPN+.
The Waves, currently holding a 4-7 record, are aiming to secure consecutive wins for the first time this season after their recent victory over Cal State Bakersfield. In that matchup, Pepperdine won 70-62. Aaron Clark led with 25 points and achieved a career-high five steals. Javon Cooley contributed 17 points, including three three-pointers in the second half.
Defensively, Pepperdine limited Cal State Bakersfield to just under 30% shooting from the field and only 16.7% from beyond the arc, both marking season lows for a Pepperdine opponent.
According to current statistics, Pepperdine ranks 17th nationally in free throw percentage at .781 and is third in the West Coast Conference (WCC) with an average of 12.8 offensive rebounds per game.
Styles Phipps stands out as one of three players nationwide averaging more than 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and five assists per game. He also holds third place in assists per game within the WCC at 5.3 and is noted as the only player in the conference with both a points/rebounds double-double and a points/assists double-double this season.
Javon Cooley is second on his team in scoring (13.2 points per game) and rebounding (5.4 boards per contest). He ranks third in the WCC and tenth nationally in free throw percentage (.957), having made 44 consecutive free throws.
Aaron Clark leads Pepperdine’s scoring this season with an average of 14.3 points per game—10th best in the WCC—and remains unique within his conference by averaging at least 14 points, 3.5 rebounds, three assists, and 1.5 steals each contest.
Danilo Dozic has recorded two games with at least twenty points this year and sits second on his team for three-pointers made (14). Pavle Stosic has started five straight games up front while Yonatan Levy posted eight rebounds last outing.
Pepperdine is one of only two teams in its conference featuring four players who each average more than eleven points per game: Clark, Cooley, Dozic, and Phipps.
Historically against Long Beach State—known as “the Beach”—Pepperdine holds a slight edge overall but trails slightly when playing away games (7-6). The Beach have claimed seven wins out of their last nine meetings since the mid-2000s; last year’s match-up ended with Long Beach winning by three points.
Long Beach State enters Thursday’s contest with a record of two wins and nine losses so far this season—including victories over Nobel University and San Diego—and currently faces a three-game losing streak despite some close overtime contests recently.
The Waves will finish their non-conference schedule at home against Rice on Saturday before returning to league play.
Pepperdine men’s basketball has appeared thirteen times in NCAA postseason tournaments throughout its history along with earning twelve regular-season championships within its conference framework.
