A two-time victory is never a coincidence.
Pepperdine’s Men’s Basketball earns their second series victory against Pacific on Jan. 25 in a buzzing Firestone Fieldhouse. The Waves scored 60 points to the Tiger’s 44 in a steady game of high energy and teamwork.
Head Coach Ed Schilling started senior forward Stefan Todorovic, junior guard Moe Odum, sophomore guard/forward Dovydas Butka, freshman forward Danilo Dozic and redshirt senior forward Boubacar Coulibaly to end the Waves’ three-game-losing streak.
The game started with a jump shot by Butka in the paint with Pepperdine holding a strong defense resulting in a three-pointer by Odum and an assist by Todorovic, making the score 5-0 for the Waves.
Following a foul by Pacific, Coulibaly came in with a dunk in the paint making the score 7-2.
In contrast to the last three games for Pepperdine, the team came together and played as a collective unit.
Odum came into the game with a team-first mindset and led the team with five assists, dishing the ball out to tire Pacific’s defense.
“I’m not looking to say ‘I’m going to get a certain amount of assists,'” Odum said. “I’m just trying to play team ball.”
Pepperdine’s aggression slightly slowed and Pacific gained some momentum with a dunk in the paint, bringing the score to 17-12. However, after a turnover by Pacific, Zion Bethea shot a three-pointer to set the score 20-12.
Pepperdine held a steady defense throughout the first half, taking the ball into the paint where Butka earned multiple free throws on several tips down the floor, according to Pepperdine Athletics
Todorovic closed out the first half with a free throw resulting in a 34-20 lead for the Waves.
The second half was opened with a foul by Pacific, providing Todorovic with the opportunity to score two out of three free throws.
After a rebound made by Coulibaly, Todorovic went for a fast break layup in the paint resulting in a score of 38-22.
The Tigers came out stronger in the second half while the Waves took their feet slightly off the gas pedal. However, Todorovic came out racing, scoring nine points in the first six minutes of the second half.
Butka said after playing against Pacific the first time, the team had to adjust their game strategy coming into this next matchup.
“We know that they have like three main players so we have to stop them,” Butka said.
After a defensive-heavy stint of the game, Pacific shot a three-pointer to bring the score to 25-40, but Odum came through with an assist to set up Todorovic with a layup to bring the score to 25-42.
After a foul by Pacific, Butka came through with two free throw shots to bring more momentum to Pepperdine’s side.
After a missed jump shot by Pacific, Dozic came through with a defensive rebound to set up a jump shot by Odum, resulting in a large lead of 52-28 for the Waves.
With a layup in the paint and a foul, Pacific called a timeout with three minutes on the clock.
Pepperdine was ready to close out the game after Pepperdine’s freshman guard Jaxon Olvera made two free throws out of the gate.
Redshirt sophomore guard David Mager closed the game out with a fast-paced dunk in the paint to bring the game to a 60-44 Waves win.
After Pepperdine’s first victory over Pacific, Butka said they have their eye on a winning streak after their three-game losing streak.
“We want to keep a winning streak,” Butka said.
Pacific committed 20 turnovers which resulted in 20 points bagged by Pepperdine.
Every player on the Waves’ Men’s Basketball team got some minutes in the game.
Although not Pepperdine’s best shooting game, the Waves still outshot Pacific 33% to 28% from the field and 20% to 15% from beyond the arc, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The Waves move to 8-13 overall record and a 2-6 record conference games.
Pepperdine prepares to take on the University of San Diego at the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Jan. 30.
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Contact Haylie Ross by email: haylie.ross@pepperdine.edu
