Pepperdine Men’s Basketball fell to Seattle University 83-81 on Feb. 4 at the Redhawk Center in Seattle, Wash. Both teams battled all game, but senior forward Junseok Yeo’s layup with 0:10 seconds left in regulation cost the Waves the victory. Pepperdine moved to 6-18 overall and 1-10 in West Coast Conference play.
The Waves struck first with sophomore guard Aaron Clark’s first possession layup. On the following possession, Clark assisted sophomore forward Yonatan Levy on a three point jumper. The Redhawks responded with senior guard Brayden Maldonado —their leading scorer— adding a layup and three point make of his own.
The Waves led 22-19 at the under 12:00 media timeout but struggled to find any rhythm after the break despite sophomore center Danilo Dozic’s quick three point basket. Maldonado continued to lead the charge for the Redhawks, repeatedly driving into the lane and drawing fouls. Seattle clawed back and after sophomore center Houran Dan’s layup, the game was tied at 32 with 5:37 left in the half.
Another Dozic three and graduate guard Javon Cooley’s alley-oop slam dunk gave the Waves some momentum down the stretch but they could not shake the Redhawks. Junior forward Brock Felder’s turnaround dunk and senior guard Maleek Arrington’s mid-range jumper got things going for Seattle.
The Waves punched back as Levy made a layup and sophomore guard Styles Phipps knocked down a pull-up jumper that left Pepperdine up four with 0:45 left in the period. Seattle responded as Yeo completed an and-one layup and Arrington knocked down 2-3 free throws after Phipps fouled the Redhawk guard on a last-second three point attempt.
The Redhawks held a slight 44-43 lead heading into halftime.
Both teams came out of the half playing physical defense as the first six points were scored off of free throws. After trading fouls for the first three minutes, Yeo’s three ball and Maldonado’s driving layup got things going for Seattle. The Redhawks caught momentum as redshirt senior guard John Christofilis knocked down a triple and senior guard Jojo Murphy hit an Arrington assisted layup which left the Waves in a nine point hole.
Pepperdine did not back down as Phipps knocked down a three with under 2:00 putting the Waves up one 80-79. After Phipps split a pair of free throws, the Waves led 81-79 but a costly foul sent redshirt sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt to the line where he also made 1-2. Phipps went to the free throw line again, missing both, which allowed the Redhawks to regain possession and call timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, Yeo sank a layup putting Seattle ahead 82-81. The Waves were unable to respond, missing a layup of their own and were forced to foul on the next possession. Cooley’s last second heave was unsuccessful as the Waves fell 83-81.
Four Waves finished in double figures with Clark leading the way putting up 22 points on an efficient 58% from the field. Phipps followed up with 18 points of his own and a team-leading seven rebounds, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Next, Pepperdine returns home and hosts the University of the Pacific Tigers (15-10) on Feb. 7 at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Tigers are coming off of a 71-56 loss at home against Santa Clara University.
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Contact Connor Ford by email: connor.ford@pepperdine.edu