Long Beach State defeats Pepperdine 81-78

By Canadian Press on December 18, 2025.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Gavin Sykes scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half, and Long Beach State beat Pepperdine 81-78 on Thursday night.

Sykes shot 9 of 16 from the field for the Beach (3-9). Petar Majstorovic added 20 points and six rebounds. Shaquil Bender finished with 12 points.

Styles Phipps led the way for the Waves (4-8) with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Javon Cooley added 17 points for Pepperdine. Danilo Dozic finished with 15 points.

Bender scored nine points in the first half and Long Beach State went into the break trailing 37-36.

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

The Associated Press

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