Pepperdine's Houston Mallette Named WCC Freshman Of The Week

MALIBU, CA —Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette was named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week Monday after he helped to lead the Waves (4-8) to victories over Alabama State and San Jose State.

Mallette, a 6-foot-5, 180-pounder from Alameda, scored 24 points in Saturday's 79-62 win over Alabama State at Firestone Fieldhouse. Twenty of his points came in the first half.

With the Waves trailing by 10 midway through the first half, Mallette hit four three-pointers and scored 14 straight points for Pepperdine, as the Waves tied the game up.

"First half, I was able to make some shots and get going," Mallette said after the game in an interview posted on Pepperdine's website. "I put a lot of time and work into my craft. These are shots I practice, shots that I take a lot, coach (Lorenzo Romar) believes in me, I believe in myself, so I'm really happy about that."

Mallette had six points —on two three-pointers —in the Waves 82-59 win over San Jose State on Dec. 6 in Malibu.

For the week, Mallette shot .526 overall and .538 from beyond the arc. He's currently leading the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and is ranked 17th in the WCC in that category. Mallette is fourth in the conference in three-pointers made per game (2.42) and 14th in steals per game (1.17).

Mallette is the first Pepperdine player to be named WCC Freshman of the Week after the award began last season.

The Waves are taking final exams this week, and will return to the court at 5 p.m. Saturday when they host Southeast Missouri State.