Kevin Bailey scored 15 points to lead Portland to a 53-43 victory over Pepperdine on Saturday.
Ryan Nicholas added 11 for the Pilots (5-11, 2-1 West Coast), who won their second straight after losing seven in a row.
Taylor Darby scored 14 and Jordan Baker had 12 for Pepperdine (7-8, 1-3).
Both teams struggled to score at times as Portland shot 38 percent from the field while Pepperdine made just 32 percent of its attempts.
Despite its shooting woes, Portland managed to grab a 17-point lead (42-25) nine minutes into the second half. The Waves cut the deficit to 47-39 with six minutes left, but errant shooting hampered their comeback effort.
Portland, which has had trouble from the 3-point line this season, heated up against the Waves, hitting 5 of 7 from beyond the arc in the first half. Bailey canned three of those to lead the Pilots to a 29-19 halftime lead.
