Freshman Stefan Cicic shoots from beyond the arc against the Seattle Redhawks on Feb. 25 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Cicic had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in his third start this season. Photos by Melissa Houston
Pepperdine Men’s Basketball battled the Seattle University Redhawks on Feb. 25 and looked to end the season strong before the West Coast Conference tournament. The Waves fell 87-80 in what is assumed to be the second to last home game at Firestone Fieldhouse.
Pepperdine started slow offensively, committing six turnovers and going down 16-4 in by the 13 minute mark.
“We were just horrendous,” Head Coach Ed Schilling said. “We came out, and we just looked like we were sleep walking in the first half.”
The game looked like a blowout early on in the second half, as Pepperdine went down 19 points, but sophomore guard Aaron Clark and junior guard David Mager combined for four late 3s to give the Waves life.
Mager led the Waves with 25 points, a career high, followed by sophomore guard Styles Phipps, who recorded 19 points to pair with seven assists. Clark, the Waves’ lead scorer who’s been averaging 25.8 points over the last five games according to Pepperdine Athletics, did not see his first basket until 4:56 left in the game.
“[Clark] was trying to go to the ball screen while they were trapping him,” Schilling said. “Instead of becoming more of a facilitator, he was still trying to score, but he’s also worn down, he’s been playing a ton of minutes.”
Sophomore guard Aaron Clark fights the double team against the Seattle Redhawks on Feb. 25 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Clark scored six points, his lowest since scoring nine against the San Francisco Dons on Jan. 10, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
The offensive continued to struggle for the rest half, as the Waves shot 35.3% from the field.
Mager tried to get the offensive ball rolling in the final six minutes of the half, hitting a deep 3 to put the Waves within three. The gap soon widened, as the Redhawks scored six unanswered to end the half, including a 3 in the final seconds to put Seattle up 39-27.
Pepperdine struggled holding onto the ball, committing 12 turnovers compared to Seattle’s four in the first half, while also failing to find an offensive rhythm in the paint, as Seattle’s frontcourt scored 34 of the 39 points.
“It’s just starting out slow, I mean, it’s preached all year that we got to come out with fire to start the game,” Phipps said. “No team is going to walk in here and just hand us the win, so I think just going out there with fire and throwing the punches first.”
Seattle came out of the half with momentum, increasing their lead to 18 at 17:34, but the Waves did not let up, as they tried to get the offense rolling through Mager and Phipps.
Seattle built their largest lead of the game, going up 19 with 12:47 left, but freshman guard Luka Vudragovic and Mager hit two 3s back-to-back to try and put the Waves back in it.
Phipps caught fire with 10 minutes left in the game, scoring five straight for the Waves, but Seattle quickly responded, building the lead back up to 17 with 7:29 left.
“We were down, what, 12 at halftime,” Mager said. “We fought hard, they had some big time shots, we had some defensive lapses but I’m proud of how our guys fought.”
Sophomore guard Styles Phipps shoots a contested 3 against the Seattle Redhawks on Feb. 25 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Phipps led the Waves with seven assists.
Graduate guard Javon Cooley started to make his impact late in the game, scoring a layup, free throw and assisting on a Clark 3 to bring Seattle’s lead to 10 with 4:56 left. Clark hit another 3 with 2:14 left to bring the lead to single digits for the first time since the first half.
Mager hit a crucial 3 with 1:37 left to give Pepperdine a chance, putting them down 78-73, but the Redhawks free throw shooting late in the game made the lead insurmountable, leading them to their 18th win of the season.
“[Mager] is going to play hard, and that’s what we needed today,” Schilling said. “He’s going to make things happen, that’s exactly what we needed tonight, and that’s why he played almost 30 minutes.”
Despite the loss for Pepperdine, the Waves both outrebounded and shot from 3 better than the Redhawks, totalling 38 rebounds compared to Seattle’s 31 and shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc compared to Seattle’s 31.6%.
“We’re better than that in all of our minds,” Mager said. “I feel like our culture is great, and I feel like going into the [Mountain] is going to be even better.”
Mager said the individual talent on the team does not reflect the record of the Waves, and said the West Coast Conference tournament last year proved the team’s talent is there — they just need to execute.
Sophomore forward Yonathan Levy fights in the paint against the Seattle Redhawks on Feb. 25 at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Redhawks scored 50 points in the paint compared to the Waves’ 40.
Pepperdine’s next match is against the Washington State Cougars on Feb. 28 at Firestone Fieldhouse for the presumed final game of the season in the arena.
Following their final game, the Waves will be traveling to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on March 5-10 to compete in the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Waves made a miracle run last year, falling to the St. Mary’s College of California Gaels in the semi-finals, according to ESPN.
“We had a very similar record going into the tournament last year, and obviously we made a lot of noise,” Mager said. “The whole country was talking about it, so I mean, anything’s possible.”
_________________________________
Follow the Graphic on X: @PeppGraphic
Contact Shane Stephens via email: shane.stephens@pepperdine.edu