Pepperdine Men’s Basketball came up short in an 84-60 loss against the Gonzaga University Bulldogs on Jan. 21 at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash. The Waves battled on the defensive end early but could not contain the Bulldogs offense as Pepperdine fell to 6-15 and 1-7 in West Coast Conference play.
The short-handed Bulldogs, without their leading scorers graduate forward Graham Ike and redshirt junior forward Braden Huff, got out to a slow start on offense despite a first possession basket from senior guard Adam Miller. The Waves responded as sophomore center Danilo Dožic and sophomore guard Styles Phipps each landed a layup, followed by a mid-range jumper from sophomore forward Yonatan Levy. The Bulldogs held a slight 8-6 lead at the first media timeout, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Both teams continued to trade baskets, but turnover troubles for the Waves allowed Gonzaga to pull away with a 47-29 lead headed into halftime.
It was all Bulldogs in the second half as their lead ballooned to 30 points. Gonzaga continued to work down low winning the points in the paint battle 48-26. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc shooting a combined 8-42. However, the Waves shot a near perfect 13-14 from the free throw line with Phipps shooting a perfect 7-7, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Gonzaga’s continued offensive dominance carried the Bulldogs to a sizable 84-60 victory over the Waves. Four Bulldogs finished in double figures with freshman guard Davis Fogle’s 17 points leading the way. Gonzaga also saw a career night from walk-on senior forward Noah Haaland, who scored 10 points on a perfect 4-4 shooting and collected four rebounds in just 11 minutes of action, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Pepperdine’s offense slowed in the second half, as the Waves went nearly eight minutes without a field goal and finished the game shooting just 38% from the field and 14% from three, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Two Waves ended up with double-digits as redshirt sophomore guard Aaron Clark and Phipps finished with 10 and 13 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Pavle Stošic followed the pair up with nine points and five rebounds in 11 minutes of play off the bench.
Gonzaga becomes the second team in college basketball this season to reach 20 wins joining Miami University (OH) in the top of the win column, according to ESPN. Tonight’s victory marks the 51st consecutive victory for the Bulldogs over Pepperdine, as the Waves last win came in January of 2002 when they defeated Gonzaga in Malibu 88-79.
Next, the Waves continue their two-game road stint with a matchup against the Washington State Cougars (8-13), who are coming off a 96-92 loss at the University of San Diego. The Waves play the Cougars on Jan. 24 at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash.
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Contact Connor Ford by email: connor.ford@pepperdine.edu