It’s a flawless week of home openers for Pepperdine Basketball to begin the 2024-25 campaign.
To open the week, Women’s Basketball started the season with a 59-57 comeback win over California State University, Fullerton on Nov. 4. The Men’s Basketball squad followed up with a decisive 77-64 win over Western Illinois University on Nov. 6 in a packed Firestone Fieldhouse.
Both basketball head coaches picked up their first official wins as Waves, and for Ed Schilling, Men’s Basketball Head Coach, getting the first win over a good team was important.
“It’s great, they’re a good team,” Schilling said. “It was great to just be at home, get a chance to play, but more than anything, we’ve been practicing and practicing, and getting a chance to go out and do it against somebody [good], and being able to do it here, having some friends and family was nice.”
It’s a brand new season for the Waves, and it’s a brand new team, with 11 new faces — nine of whom are new Schilling signees. New-look Waves opened the scoring as sophomore guard/forward Dovydas Butka battled for a layup in the paint assisted by junior guard Moe Odum.
From there, both sides fought to keep it close. Each team secured buckets to stay neck and neck until the Leathernecks called a timeout at 7-7.
In a tie game, the Leathernecks exited the timeout with a new game plan, and it was successful. They secured four straight points with a combination of good defense on their side and poor ball handling from the Waves, bringing the game to 7-11.
But, the Waves’ system began to click. Senior forward Stefan Todorovic worked in the paint to secure a layup before picking up an offensive board, which led straight into a fast break layup from Todorovic to tie the game at 11-11, all within the span of two minutes.
“The system that Coach Schilling puts us in opens the [court] for everybody,” Todorovic said. “Not just me, we can be a threat at all positions on the floor.”
The Waves kept their foot on the gas and built a seven-point lead 18-11. From here, Pepperdine let off the gas, committing turnovers and fouls to watch their once seven-point lead turn into a three-point 22-25 deficit.
Schilling decided it was time to regroup, calling for the team’s first and only timeout of the half. The Waves kept up the pressure in the paint and began finding success behind the arc, getting back-to-back three-pointers to regain the lead 30-25.
“I saw toughness from us, I saw some maturity from our freshmen that came in the game [with] not a lot of minutes,” Todorovic said. “I saw great leadership from myself, Moe, Boubacar and other vets. I think that’s gonna help us win.”
From there, Pepperdine never looked back, ending the first half up seven points with a 34-27 lead.
“We really shared the ball well, we really passed the ball well, we shot the ball well,” Shilling said. “Especially whenever we had misses, we were able to push off it and got great attempts.”
Riding off the momentum of a first-half lead and a packed house of cheering Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse, Pepperdine kept themselves positioned in the driver’s seat, holding the lead for the rest of the game.
“It was something I didn’t expect, for everybody to come out, but it was really good,” Odum said. “I hope we can pack it a little bit more.”
With the lead reaching as high as 16 points, the Waves secured the first win of the season and of Schilling’s Waves career in a commanding 77-64 victory.
Even though many areas were strengths for the Waves, Schilling said there are still things to work on.
“They threw some different defenses at us and they really did a nice job, so we’ve got a lot to learn, but it’s sure a good way to start,” Schilling said. “Ball screen defense is something we need to clean up. That’s the biggest thing.”
Many of Pepperdine’s points were secured in the paint, 36 to Western Illinois’ 34, with fast breaks being the strength for the Waves, 20 to the Leathernecks seven.
Western Illinois received more second-chance points, 11 to Pepperdine’s eight, and secured more points off turnovers, 15 to the Waves’ 14. However, the Waves were stronger on the defensive side, securing 34 rebounds to Western Illinois’ 26, all according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Odum said defense is a big part of the team’s game, but especially in his game.
“Being a small guard, you gotta pick up 94 [feet], you gotta be a pest,” Odum said. “If not, you can’t make it to the next level, in my opinion.”
A match-high 25-point performance from Todorovic led the charge for the Waves, 8 for 11 on field goal attempts and 8 for 9 on free throws. He picked up five boards and three assists to end an impressive night in his Waves debut.
Todorovic said this is his second school so far in his college career, but he has enjoyed meshing with the team.
“[I] came here believing in this system, and I think we’re going to do some big stuff this year, we just have to be patient,” Todorovic said. “It’s the first game of the season, and we came up with a win, but let’s just go from here.”
Odum and redshirt junior guard Zion Bethea followed the team in points with 18 and 15, respectively. Butkas led the team in rebounds with 10, redshirt senior forward Boubacar Coulibaly secured seven and Todorovic rounded out the top three with five.
The Waves will play four straight games on the road before returning home. They will open the road trip in La Jolla, Calif., on Nov. 9, with a game against the University of California, San Diego.
“Seven of our first nine are away, so we got to get used to it, and we got to appreciate these times when we get to be at home,” Schilling said. “[We] don’t know much about [UC San Diego] yet, we know that they had a great year last year, and several guys returned, so we know they’re going to be a real quality opponent.”
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Email Justin Rodriguez: justin.rodriguez@pepperdine.edu
