HONOLULU, Hawaii - American University men's basketball team could not overcome first-half shooting woes, as they fell to Pepperdine by 13 points, 82-69. American was led by Andre Ingram (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who led all scorers with 19 points. American is now 3-7.

American shot 26 percent in the first half (8 of 30) and eventually trailed by 17 points (41-24). Ingram kept AU close with 10 points in the half, however, the Wave was able to extend the lead from six points (11:45) to 13 as the Eagles went cold offensively. AU scored just one basket from 11:45 to the 3:54 mark.

The Wave began the second half as hot as they finished the first half. They went on a 9-2 run and pushed the lead to 24. Linas Lekavicius (Silale, Lithuania/The Miller School) sparked a comeback as he scored 10 of his career-high 14 points in the second stanza. AU was able to close the deficit to 13 points with 1:49 left in the game (79-66). Lekavicius had three threes, two assists and a pair of rebounds in 21 minutes.

Andres Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Louisville) scored five points, dished out five assists and notched three steals in 32 minutes while fellow senior Jernavis Draughn (Triangle, Va./Potomac Senior) netted 11 points and led AU in rebounding with six. He also had three assists and two steals.

The Wave was led Alex Acker, who scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists. Derick Grubb was one point shy of a double-double as he finished with 10 rebounds and nine points.

AU will next play on Monday, Dec. 29, when they take on Bowling Green in the second round of the Rainbow Classic. Game time is 1:30 p.m.