Pepperdine hosts Saint Mary's (CA) after Johnson's 24-point outing

Published Jan. 18, 2023 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Saint Mary's Gaels (16-4, 5-0 WCC) at Pepperdine Waves (7-12, 0-5 WCC)

Malibu, California; Thursday, 11 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Saint Mary's (CA) takes on the Pepperdine Waves after Logan Johnson scored 24 points in Saint Mary's (CA)'s 78-61 win against the San Francisco Dons.

The Waves are 6-4 on their home court. Pepperdine is second in the WCC scoring 79.1 points while shooting 47.4% from the field.

The Gaels are 5-0 against WCC opponents. Saint Mary's (CA) has a 13-0 record in games decided by 10 points or more.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Maxwell Lewis is shooting 52.1% and averaging 19.6 points for the Waves. Mike Mitchell Jr. is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Pepperdine.

Alex Ducas is shooting 43.0% from beyond the arc with 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Gaels, while averaging 11.9 points. Aidan Mahaney is shooting 46.4% and averaging 15.2 points over the last 10 games for Saint Mary's (CA).

LAST 10 GAMES: Waves: 2-8, averaging 79.4 points, 33.1 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 5.8 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 83.7 points per game.

Gaels: 9-1, averaging 75.0 points, 33.9 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 7.2 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 59.7 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.