Pepperdine poor shooting in the first half, fall to No.7 Gonzaga at home 96-56
Pepperdine Waves #18 Yonatan Levy (F) look for a teammate to pass the basketball to scored 15 points against the No.7 rank Gonzaga Bulldogs at Firestone Fieldhouse. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1 December 28, 2025.
MALIBU, CA - The Pepperdine Waves (5-9, 0-1 WCC) 2nd-year head coach Ed Schillings, with a young team full of freshmen and sophomores, came out of the gate cold in the first half, 8 for 29 from the floor, and had their hands full in losing their conference opener to the No. 7-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (13-1,1-0 WCC) at the Firestone Fieldhouse 96-56 to open up the WCC action.
Gonzaga made 18 of 33 shots from the floor in the first half and in the second half made 36 of 67 shots for 53.7 percent, while Pepperdine made 19 of 56 shots, 33.9 percent.
Gonzaga Bulldogs #15 Graham Ike (F) is going to the basket for a left-hand layup against the Pepperdine Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1 December 28, 2025.
"We were dominated tonight by Gonzaga," said head coach Ed Schilling. "Their experience, strength, and size took us out of what we needed to do at both ends of the floor. The good news is that we now have a much clearer picture of how we need to compete and execute in order to be successful going forward in the WCC."
Yonatan Levy led the Waves in scoring with 15 points, followed by Javon Cooley with 13 points. The Bulldogs were led in scoring by Tyon Grant Foster with 18 points, Graham Ike with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Braeden Smith and Davis Fogle, both with 15 points.
The Bulldogs jumped out in the first half, 22-9, with a monster dunk by Tyon Grant-Foster. The Waves would trail 22-16 with a three-pointer by Javon Cooley.
Graham Ike would give Gonzaga a twenty-two point lead, 38-16, with a jump shot in the paint with 5:41 left in the first half.
Cooley would knock down a jump shot to make the score 42-22, before the Bulldogs ended the first half leading 44-26.
Pepperdine trailed in the second half, 52-31, with a three-pointer by Yonatan Levy. Ike would pull up in the paint for a jump shot to give Gonzaga a thirty-one point lead, 66-37, with 13:31 left in the game. Levy would drive to the basket for a layup to make the score 79-45.
Pepperdine Waves #23 Javon Cooley (G) is going around a screen set by one of his teammates against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Firestone Fieldhouse. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1 December 28, 2025.
The Bulldogs would close out the game with a 17-11 run, winning 96-56 to continue their winning streak of six games after losing to the Michigan Wolverines on November 26.
The Waves will play their second game in the WCC as they take on St. Mary’s at home Tuesday Night, while the Bulldogs will travel to play San Diego on Tuesday.