MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Paulius Murauskas’ 19 points helped Saint Mary’s defeat Pepperdine 72-45 on Tuesday.

Murauskas also contributed five rebounds for the Gaels (13-2, 2-0 West Coast Conference). Joshua Dent shot 4 for 8, including 1 for 5 from beyond the arc to add 11 points. Liam Campbell shot 2 of 3 from the field and 4 for 4 from the line to finish with nine points.

Styles Phipps led the Waves (5-10, 0-2) in scoring, finishing with eight points. Danilo Dozic added eight points for Pepperdine. Pavle Stosic had eight points.

Saint Mary’s took the lead for good with 19:16 remaining in the first half. The score was 34-25 at halftime, with Murauskas racking up nine points. Saint Mary’s pulled away with a 9-0 run in the second half to extend a nine-point lead to 18 points. They outscored Pepperdine by 18 points in the final half, as Murauskas led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points.

___

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