Pepperdine Men’s Basketball squared off against the Oregon State University Beavers on Jan. 23 at Gill Coliseum.
The Waves entered the matchup with a 7-12 overall record and a 1-5 conference record. Pepperdine has had a slow start to their conference season, dropping the previous two conference matchups, and only picking up a win against the University of the Pacific on Jan. 4.
It was evident the Waves wanted a bounce back win, and they showed that in the first half.
Pepperdine took the lead first with a jumper from senior forward Stefan Todorovic, but Oregon State energy was on par with the Waves. The lead swapped back and forth for the first five minutes until a Beavers three and field goal turned the tides of the momentum.
Finding themselves at a seven point deficit, 6-13, the Waves battled to regain hold of the match, getting to within three points by the 12-minute mark. However, for each bucket the Waves found, Oregon State matched it.
At 12-19 Beavers, Todorovic found the net for a three-pointer, bringing the Waves back into the game, but that would be the last bucket scored for the next five minutes.
Between minutes 11 through 6:30, the Waves missed out on a dunk, three attempted three-pointers and layups and two jumpers. All while out rebounding the Beavers six to two.
The Waves’ next point would come off a successful free throw from Todorovic, but shooting struggles placed Pepperdine at a 16-25 deficit.
Pepperdine tried to claw their way back into the first half, but the deficit was too strong to overcome, as the first half ended 29-34.
As a team, the Waves shot 38.8% from the field and 40% behind the arc. The Beavers shot 50% from the field and 44.44% from deep.
The Waves came out of halftime hot, quickly securing a layup from sophomore guard/forward Dovydas Butka and a layup and three from freshman forward Danilo Dozic to regain a two point, 36-34, lead over Oregon State.
However, the glory of the lead would be short lived, as the Beavers would go on to score seven unanswered points to regain the lead and never look back.
More shooting troubles from the Waves would crumble any hopes of a comeback, and by the nine-minute mark, the Beavers found themselves at a 48-66 lead—with a comfy 18 point cushion.
Pepperdine lost the matchup 63-83, extending their loss streak to three games.
The Waves ended the game shooting 43.3% from the field and 31.8% from three. Oregon State’s consistency proved to be the difference, shooting 60.7% from the field and 55% from three.
Topping the scoreboard for Pepperdine once again was Todorovic with 19 points with Butka following with 14. Todorovic has only had one game this season with less than double digit points.
In the paint, redshirt senior forward Boubacar Coulibaly secured nine rebounds as Todorovic added to his stat sheet with seven. Junior guard Moe Odum set up his team for success with 11 assists while also finding the net for five points, all according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Now sitting at 7-13 on the year with a 1-6 conference record, the Waves look to bounce back with a rematch against Pacific on Jan. 25 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Pepperdine’s last conference win came against the Tigers 87-70.
_________________
Follow the Graphic on Twitter: @PeppGraphic
Email Justin Rodriguez: justin.rodriguez@pepperdine.edu
