Pepperdine University’s men’s basketball team will begin a stretch of away games in the West Coast Conference (WCC) this weekend. The Waves, holding a 5-10 record and seeking their first conference win of the season, are scheduled to face Santa Clara on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup with Pacific on Sunday at 4 p.m. Both contests will be available for live streaming on ESPN+.
This road trip marks Pepperdine’s first series of three consecutive away conference games to start the new calendar year.
In their most recent game, Pepperdine was defeated by Saint Mary’s, 72-45. Pavle Stosic, Danilo Dozic, and Styles Phipps each contributed eight points. Yonatan Levy added five assists along with three rebounds and a steal. The team struggled offensively in the second half, converting only one of 13 attempts from three-point range.
Statistically, Pepperdine is currently ranked 20th nationally in free throw percentage at .773 and third within the WCC. The Waves have made more than 70 percent of their free throws in nine out of their last eleven games.
The team features four players averaging double-digit points per game: Aaron Clark, Javon Cooley, Styles Phipps, and Danilo Dozic. Seven different players have led the team in scoring during individual games this season.
On offensive rebounding, Pepperdine ranks fourth in the WCC with an average of 11.6 offensive boards per game and has achieved double digits in this category nine times over fifteen games.
Styles Phipps is one of three players nationwide averaging over 11.5 points, six rebounds, five assists, and one steal per game. He also ranks third in the WCC for assists per game (5.1) and eighth for rebounds (6.3). Phipps is noted as “the only player in the WCC to have both a points/rebounds double-double and a points/assists double-double this season.” He trails only Pavle Stosic on his team for offensive rebounds.
Javon Cooley leads Pepperdine with an average of 13.3 points per game while also ranking second on the team with five rebounds per contest. Over his past six games he has shot nearly 57 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc; he is among ten WCC players ranked top-25 in both scoring and rebounding statistics within the conference.
Cooley stands fourth in WCC free throw percentage (.923), which places him twentieth nationally; his streak of making forty-four consecutive free throws ended recently against Long Beach State.
Aaron Clark matches Cooley’s scoring average at 13.3 points per game while contributing at least 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest—one of two such players meeting these marks across the league.
Yonatan Levy scored a season-high fifteen points against Gonzaga earlier this year; he has improved his perimeter shooting recently by hitting seven three-pointers across six games after making just one through his first nine appearances.
Danilo Dozic leads Pepperdine with twenty-three made three-pointers so far this season while recording two twenty-point performances overall.
Pavle Stosic has started nine straight games up front for Pepperdine with averages of just over four points and nearly four rebounds each outing.
Historically against upcoming opponents: Santa Clara holds an all-time series lead over Pepperdine (86-65), having won seven out of their last ten matchups; however, Pepperdine won their most recent postseason meeting during last March’s WCC Quarterfinals by a score of 78-76 in Las Vegas. Against Pacific—which holds a narrow advantage historically—the Waves are currently on a five-game winning streak versus that program including regular-season sweeps last year.
Santa Clara enters Friday’s contest after being picked fourth in preseason polls; they opened conference play with wins at Oregon State and Portland and maintain an undefeated home record thus far this season.
Christian Hammond (16.5 ppg) and Elijah Mahi (15.5 ppg) are leading scorers for Santa Clara while Pacific’s Elias Ralph is averaging almost seventeen points along with nearly seven rebounds per contest.
After these road games conclude Sunday at Pacific, Pepperdine will continue its travels to face San Diego next Thursday evening.
