Pepperdine men’s basketball suffered a home defeat to San Francisco on Saturday evening, with the final score at 80-60. The game, played at Firestone Fieldhouse, marked the Waves’ sixth straight loss in West Coast Conference play this season.
Styles Phipps led Pepperdine with 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. He also shot 10-for-12 from the free-throw line and matched a team season-high with six offensive rebounds. David Mager contributed 13 points off the bench, matching his career-best performance, while Danilo Dozic added 11 points and four rebounds.
The Waves struggled from three-point range, making just three of their 21 attempts. In contrast, San Francisco converted 13 of their 34 shots from beyond the arc.
“We missed a lot of shots tonight that we know we can make,” said head coach Ed Schilling following the game. “Junjie Wang really stepped up for San Francisco, who was 1-6 from three in league play and 26% on the year. He caught fire shooting 7-9 from three-point range and scored 27 points. Give San Francisco credit as they made shots and played well. I thought we played hard until the end, but when we shoot 3-21 from three, it’s going to be tough to win.”
San Francisco started strong with six straight points before Pepperdine responded to tie it at nine early in the first half. However, a cold shooting stretch left Pepperdine trailing by double digits after Junjie Wang hit back-to-back threes for San Francisco.
At halftime, Pepperdine trailed by eleven points after managing only one successful three-pointer out of twelve attempts in the opening period. The Dons extended their lead early in the second half with a quick scoring run that put them ahead by more than twenty points.
Despite efforts by Dozic and Aaron Clark to reduce the deficit—both contributing baskets while Phipps added free throws—the Dons maintained control as Wang continued his strong shooting performance in the second half.
Phipps and Mager combined for most of Pepperdine’s offense late in the game but were unable to close the gap as San Francisco secured victory in what will be their only meeting this season.
Additional notes from Pepperdine include: Phipps has now scored at least 18 points in consecutive games while going a combined 22-for-25 from the free throw line during those contests; Javon Cooley finished with nine points and four rebounds; Aaron Clark tallied nine points along with four boards and a game-high three steals; Pepperdine matched its season best with only six turnovers; and grabbed thirteen offensive rebounds—a high mark for conference play this year.
Pepperdine will host Portland next Wednesday at Firestone Fieldhouse.
According to program records, Pepperdine men’s basketball has participated in thirteen NCAA postseason tournaments and won twelve WCC Regular-Season Championships along with three WCC Tournament titles. The program last won a postseason tournament at the CBI event in 2021 and has produced nineteen All-Americans as well as nineteen NBA players over its history.
