Pepperdine University’s men’s basketball team secured a narrow 90-89 victory over Loyola Marymount University (LMU) on Saturday at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. The Waves ended the game with a 9-0 run, overcoming an eight-point deficit in the final minutes.
Stefan Cicic scored the decisive basket with a putback dunk off an offensive rebound with 5.4 seconds left. Cicic finished with a career-high 13 points, while Aaron Clark led all scorers with a career-best 33 points.
“This was a huge win for us over our crosstown rival LMU,” said head coach Ed Schilling. “Scoring 90 points was fantastic and holding them scoreless the last 2:29 of the game was huge. The players never quit despite being down in the last minutes of the game. Aaron was on fire offensively and Stef Cicic came off the bench and played very well, including the game winning tip dunk. I’m so happy for our guys.”
Clark contributed significantly in the first half, scoring 25 points as Pepperdine trailed LMU 56-54 at halftime. Both teams shot above 63% from the field during that period.
The second half saw LMU build an early lead, but Pepperdine responded through key plays by Clark, Cicic, and others. With less than three minutes remaining, LMU led by eight before Pepperdine’s late surge closed out the contest.
Additional contributions came from Danilo Dozic with 16 points—including three three-pointers—Styles Phipps who had 11 points and seven assists, and Javon Cooley who added another 11 points.
Pepperdine’s win marked its first home victory against LMU since January 2020. The Waves improved their all-time record against LMU to 106-76.
This season, Pepperdine matched its highest point total against a Division I opponent and set season-bests in several categories such as three-point shooting percentage (.556), assists (19), and field goals made (31) against Division I competition.
The Waves will next play on Wednesday at Portland against the Pilots.
Pepperdine men’s basketball has appeared in NCAA postseason tournaments thirteen times and has won twelve West Coast Conference regular-season titles along with three conference tournament championships. The program has produced nineteen All-Americans and nineteen NBA players throughout its history.
