STOCKTON, Calif. – Improving to 7-0 at home, the Pacific men's basketball made a defensive stand on the final play to top a pesky Pepperdine squad 74-69 on Sunday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
The Waves (5-12, 0-4 WCC) trailed 72-69 and had the ball in the closing moments when senior Justin Rochelin stripped away a steal, ran the floor and scored to put an exclamation point on the win. It capped a back-and-forth victory that featured 13 lead changes.
 
Pacific (11-6, 2-2 WCC) shot .529 from the floor, 9-of-20 (.450) from three-point range and 11-of-13 (.846) from the free throw line to overcome 18 turnovers. The Tigers outrebounded the Waves 35-24 to create a 16-7 edge in second chance points.
 
Senior Elias Ralph tallied a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the charge. He was 7-of-13 from the field, 3-of-5 from long distance and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
 
Ralph was one of four Tigers to score in double-figures. Senior Justin Rochelin registered a season-high 14 points and matched his career-high eight rebounds to go along with three steals. Rochelin was 5-of-7 shooting.
 
Senior Jaden Clayton recorded 11 points and junior Kajus Kublickas came off the bench to notch 10 points and five assists. Freshman Jaion Pitt contributed with five points and nine rebounds.
 
Pepperdine was guided by Javon Cooley's 18 points and seven rebounds. The Waves were 14-of-15 (.933) from the free throw line.
 
The teams were neck-and-neck in the first half with Pacific leading 13-12 after a tip-in by Ralph at the 14:49 mark. A three-pointer by Kublickas put the Tigers ahead 26-23 with 10:37 to go.
 
Pepperdine went up 35-32 with 4:34 remaining when the Tigers ended the half on a 7-1 run. It included a last-second three-pointer by Ralph to put them up 40-36 heading into the break.
 
Pacific came out hot in the second half and was seemingly in control 56-45 after senior TJ Wainwright nailed a three at the 12:28 mark. Though, the Waves slowly chipped away at the deficit and cut it to 58-54 with 8:47 left.
 
A tip-in by Rochelin upped Pacific's edge to 70-63 with 1:38 remaining, but Pepperdine's Cooley was fouled shooting a three and made all three free throws to cut it to 70-66 with 1:09 to go. After a jumper by Clayton, Pepperdine's Aaron Clark made a three to change the score to 72-69 with 29 seconds left.
 
The Tigers missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Waves had the opportunity to tie it in the final seconds. As Cooley was about to go up for a three-point attempt, Rochelin stripped the ball away and ran the length of the floor for a bucket to end it.
 
The Tigers will hit the road Thursday for a 7 p.m. game at Portland. They'll return home Saturday for a 4 p.m. affair against San Diego.
 
NOTES
- Pacific is now 44-39 all-time against Pepperdine and 23-13 at home.
 
- The Tigers are 7-0 at home this season, 816-462 all-time at home and 353-229 in the Spanos Center.
 
- Pacific improved to 8-0 this season when shooting over .500 from the field.
 
- The Tigers have outrebounded all four conference opponents this season. They entered the game ranked 22nd in the nation in rebounding margin with a +9.6 clip and outrebounded the Waves 35-24.
 
- Pacific entered the game ranked 51st in the country in free throw percentage with a .763 mark and put up a .846 clip Sunday.
 
- Ralph submitted his 26th career double-double, 15th at Pacific, fifth this year and third in the last four games. It was his 26th career 20-plus scoring game, 14th at Pacific and seventh this season. This weekend against Oregon State and Pepperdine, Ralph was 15-of-16 (.938) from the free throw line.
 
- Rochelin surpassed his previous season-high of 13 points set against San Diego. His eight rebounds matched a career-high for the fourth time. It was his 12th career double-figure scoring game and third at Pacific.
 
- Clayton etched his 38th career double-digit scoring outing, seventh at Pacific and second in a row after draining 15 points Friday against Oregon State. Clayton was 5-of-10 from the field and hit a three.
 
- Kublickas was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond-the-arc. It was his fifth double-figure scoring game of the year and the fourth time he's distributed at least five assists.
 
- Wainwright drilled a pair of threes and has made at least one in 16 of 17 games this year.
 
- Pacific has already surpassed its overall win total by two games from last season when it finished 9-24. It's the second year in a row under head coach Dave Smart that the Tigers have increased their win total as he inherited a 6-26 (0-16 WCC) squad from 2023-24.
 


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