MALIBU, Calif. -- The Pacific men's basketball team dropped a 70-64 West Coast Conference decision to Pepperdine Saturday evening at the Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
In a game that featured eight lead changes, the Tigers (7-15, 2-6) held their own in the first half as the team only trailed Pepperdine (7-18, 1-9) by one, 29-28, at the halftime break. In the first half, Alphonso Anderson was the lone double-digit scorer, tallying 10 points to lead the team. Anderson, who finished the game with a team-high 17 points, shot 55.6 percent (five-for-nine) from the field in the first 20 minutes of play and grabbed two rebounds en route to a team-high seven.
 
Jeremiah Bailey also contributed to the effort during the game, scoring in double figures for the fifth straight game. With the Tigers trailing by six, 34-28, early in the second half, the Tigers went on a 7-2 run as Bailey sparked the comeback and scored the Tigers' first seven points to cut the deficit to one, 36-35, at the 16:44 mark of the half. Bailey finished the game with 11 points and three assists and tallied three offensive rebounds.
 
A few minutes later, Luke Avdalovic gave the Tigers their first lead, knocking down a three-point basket, giving them a 41-39 advantage. The Waves, however, bounced back and regained the lead shortly after.
 
The game bounced back and forth throughout the entirety of the second half as all eight lead changes occurred in the last 20 minutes of play. With the score tied at 58 at the 2:34 mark, the Waves began to pull away, going on a 12-2 run, extending the lead to 10, 70-60, with 19 seconds left in the game. The Tigers tallied two baskets to cut the deficit to six before the final horn sounded.
 
"I thought we lost the war on the glass," Head Coach Leonard Perry stated after the game. "We gave up too many offensive rebounds … they had a couple of them at crucial times, giving them second-chance points."
 
Pacific returns to action Tuesday, February 8, as the Tigers face off against nationally-ranked USC at the Galen Center at 7 p.m.