MALIBU, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball program ran into a Pepperdine squad that caught fire Thursday in a 93-78 decision at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
Pacific (6-12, 0-3 WCC) garnered four double-figure scorers, but Pepperdine (8-10, 1-2 WCC) shot 38-of-67 (.567) from the field and 11-of-21 (.524) from three-point range. The game was close early with four ties and eight lead changes until a run by the Waves late in the first half created separation.
 
Pacific matched its season-high in field goals made with 30, set previously against Cal Maritime on Dec. 30. The Tigers were 30-of-61 (.492) from the field and 11-of-25 (.444) from beyond-the-arc.
 
Leading the Tigers in scoring were seniors Donovan Williams and Lesown Hallums, Jr. with 13 points apiece. Senior Nick Blake registered 11 points, as did senior Judson Martindale.
 
Leading the team in rebounds and assists was sophomore Moe Odum. He ended with nine points, eight assists and five rebounds.
 
Pepperdine was guided by Jevon Porter's 26 points and Michael Ajayi's 21 points.
 
A pair of threes by Blake gave the Tigers an early 11-10 edge. Pacific remained ahead 17-15 after a three by Williams at the 11:43 mark. A great pass from Odum found Martindale open for a lay-up to make it a 27-25 game with 8:07 left.
 

Great pass from M. Odum finds J. Martindale for the lay-in. Tigers lead 27-25 with 8:07 left in the 1H. #PacificProud pic.twitter.com/dU1gJubLYs

— Pacific Men's Basketball (@PacificMensBB) January 12, 2024

The Waves responded with an 8-0 run to grab a 33-27 advantage with 5:57 to go. Pepperdine extended it to 46-36 after shooting 8-of-14 (.571) from three and 18-of-33 (.545) from the field in the half.
 
Pepperdine continued to knock down long range shots early in the second and built a 60-41 edge at the 15:13 mark.
 
Still trailing 73-56, sophomore Makai Richards netted back-to-back buckets to trim it to 73-60 with 7:00 remaining. A three by Blake changed it to 75-63 with 6:21 left.
 
Though, the Waves answered with a 9-3 spurt to go up 84-66 with 4:33 to go.
 
The Tigers will wrap-up a three-game road swing Saturday when they travel to Loyola Marymount for a 6 p.m. tip at Gersten Pavilion. The game can be watched on ESPN+ or heard on Fox Sports AM 1280 with Zack Bayrouty on the call.
 
NOTES
- Pacific is now 43-35 all-time against Pepperdine and swept three games over the Waves last season. It included an 84-71 victory in the WCC Tournament.
 
- The Tigers nailed 11 threes in the contest which was their second highest total of the season only behind the 13 they made in an 87-79 win at Cal on Nov. 10.
 
- Odum entered the game ranked second in the West Coast Conference in both assists (4.7 apg) and assist:turnover ratio (2.4). He finished with eight assists and three turnovers.
 
- Blake continued his hot streak with his sixth consecutive double-figure scoring game after missing the first 11 contests of the year. It was his 31st career double-digit scoring performance. He leads the team in scoring with 11.6 points per game on the season.
 
- Hallums tallied his 20th career double-figure scoring performance, seventh this season and third in the last four games. He leads the team in scoring in conference games with 14.0 points per outing.
 
- Williams submitted his 14th career double-digit scoring game, eighth this year and third in a row. He shot .500 from the floor and drilled a trio of long distance shots.
 
- Martindale was 5-of-10 from the floor for his 36th career double-figure scoring game and 10th this year. He helped Pacific outscore Pepperdine 28-17 off the bench.
 
- The Tigers used their 10th different starting lineup in 18 games this year. Junior Burke Smith made his first career start and recorded four points and three rebounds.
 
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