Pepperdine earns first win in six years over rival Loyola Marymount with a 90-89 thriller at Firestone Fieldhouse
Guard Aaron Clark scored a career-high 33 points and big man Stefan Cicic threw down a putback dunk with seconds left in the game to lead the Pepperdine Waves men’s basketball team to a 90-89 victory over the Loyola Marymount Lions at Firestone Fieldhouse on Feb. 14.
Pepperdine head coach Ed Schilling said the win over the Lions, the Waves’ rival, was huge, while also crediting his team’s offensive execution and late-game defense.
“The players never quit despite being down in the last minutes of the game,” Schilling said. “Aaron was on fire offensively, and Stef Cicic came off the bench and played very well, including the game-winning tip dunk. I’m so happy for our guys.”
Clark scored on everything from slashing drives to catch-and-shoot threes, finishing 9 for 17 from the field, 10 for 12 at the line, and 5 for 7 from deep, to push the Waves to their first victory since mid-January.
However, it was Cicic, the 7-foot redshirt freshman center, who solidified their win. Clark received the ball on the right side of the court, drove to the basket, and laid the basketball off the backboard, but the ball bounced twice on the rim — and then Cicic exploded upward with two hands, snatched the ball, and slammed it down for his 12th and 13th points of the game with 5.4 seconds left in the contest.
Clark and Cicic weren’t the only Waves to score in double figures in the matchup. Sophomore big man Danilo Dozic scored 16 points, with three 3-pointers, and sophomore guard Styles Phipps and wing player Javon Cooley, a graduate student, each contributed 11 points.
The victory gave Pepperdine a 7-20 overall record, including a 2-12 record in the West Coast Conference, heading into their game at Portland on Wednesday.
The matchup between the Waves and Lions featured seven ties and 11 lead changes and was an offensive show from the very beginning.
Loyola Marymount scored the game’s first points and had a 17-10 lead with 15:28 left in the first half when Phipps splashed a jumper, beginning a Waves’ 8-0 run which included a scoring tear by Clark and an alley-oop dunk by Cicic, which briefly gave Pepperdine an 18-17 lead.
The Lions’ Josh Dalton, who scored a career-high 15 points, hit a 3-pointer, giving the Lions the lead again, but Pepperdine went on a second 8-0 run and grabbed a 28-25 lead.
Clark paced the Waves with 25 points before halftime. He hit free throws, swished a 3, and made a layup, while other Waves also got in the offensive action. However, the Lions, led by guard Myron Amey Jr., who finished with 25 points, still had a 56-54 lead at halftime.
Defense couldn’t douse the two teams’ offensive heat in the first half. Pepperdine shot 70.4%, while Loyola Marymount shot 63.6%.
The Lions went on a 9-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half, but then Clark hit a 3 for the Waves. Both teams’ scoring slowed a bit as Loyola Marymount maintained the lead. Cooley swished consecutive 3-pointers, cutting the Lions’ lead to 74-71 with 10 minutes left in the game.
Dalton swished a 3-pointer to give his team an 85-78 advantage, and Dozic answered with a score.
The Lions looked firmly in control, but with 2:29 left, the Waves surged. Cicic powered in six points, Clark buried another three, and suddenly Pepperdine held a one-point lead. The Lions had an opportunity to win the game, but Amey Jr. missed a long two-point jump shot as the clock trickled down to no time left.
The win was Pepperdine’s first win over the Lions in six years.
The game was also the third time Clark has scored over 30 points this season. He is averaging 20.8 points in the Waves’ last eight games.
Cicic’s 13 points were a season high for him, and he also had six rebounds. Clark, Cooley, and Dozic made all 10 of Pepperdine’s 3-pointers. Clark’s five made 3-pointers was a career high.
Pepperdine had lost six straight games before the win. Their last victory was over Portland on Jan. 14.
The Waves will play at Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon, on Saturday and host Seattle on Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
Pepperdine’s last regular season game is at home on Feb. 28 against Washington State.
Pepperdine will participate in the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas next month.