MALIBU, Calif. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team had a tough day, falling to Pepperdine 85-57 at the Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. 
 
GSU (2-6) struggled to find rhythm on offense, shooting 38.2 percent from the field (21-of-55). On the other end, Pepperdine (4-6) connected on nearly 50 percent of its shots, going 34-of-69 from the floor. 
 
Antwan Burnett paced the Tigers with 15 points, two rebounds and one offensive rebound. Mikael Stevenson and Chilaydrien Newton also scored in double figures with Stevenson contributing 14 points and Newton adding 11 points. Newton was perfect shooting the ball, going 4-of-4 from the field, including going 3-for-3 from deep. 
 
Pepperdine got off to a quick start, building a 7-0 lead withing the first three minutes of the game. Ernest Ross scored GSU's first points with a layup at the 16:43 mark.
 
The Waves continued to build their lead, taking a 19-6 advantage with 12:13 to go in the half. 
 
Grambling State tried to keep pace with Pepperdine in the opening period, cutting the deficit to single digits, 23-17, with 5:53 remaining. 
 
The Waves, however, continued to assert their first half dominance and carry a 38-24 lead into halftime. 
 
The Tigers couldn't get on track in the second half, as Pepperdine's defense and offensive prowess kept GSU off balance. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Grambling State shot 38.2 percent from the field (21-of-55) and 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from three-point range. The Tigers were 10-of-18 at the free throw line (55.6 percent). 
• GSU grabbed 33 rebounds.
• The Tigers committed 14 turnovers. 
• Grambling State scored 26 points in the paint, 20 bench points, nine fastbreak points, six second chance points and no points off turnovers.
• Pepperdine shot 49.3 percent from the floor (34-of-69) and 43.5 percent from behind the arc (10-of-23). The Waves were 7-of-9 at the charity stripe (77.8 percent) 
• Pepperdine grabbed 42 boards.
• The Waves committed eight turnovers.
• Pepperdine scored 44 points in the paint, 27 bench points, 12 fastbreak points, 18 points off turnovers and 13 second chance points. 
• Stefan Todorovic led Pepperdine with 22 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. 

 
UP NEXT
Gramling State returns home to host Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 16. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.  
 
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