MALIBU – The No. 2 Cal men's water polo team erased a five-goal deficit but couldn't complete the comeback in a 16-14 loss at No. 12 Pepperdine on Sunday.

The Bears (14-2) fell behind 11-6 late in the second quarter but eventually tied the game at 13-13 with 6:45 to play. The Waves answered with three straight goals to put the game out of reach.

Freshman Max Casabella led Cal with four goals and two assists while senior All-American Jack Deely added four goals and an assist. Center Nikolaos Papanikolaou had a goal, two assists and five drawn exclusions.

Pepperdine initially took an 8-3 lead early in the second quarter but the Bears cut the deficit to two after goals by freshman Roberto Valera, Deely and Casabella. The Waves answered with three goals in a row of their own. Deely, Warren Loth, Casabella and Papanikolaou then strung together goals to cut Pepperdine's lead to 11-10 with 4:14 left in the third quarter.

After the Waves once again went up 13-11, Cal's Miles O'Brien-Schridde and Marko Valecic netted back-to-back goals to tie the game.

The Bears return to action next Saturday at No. 1 USC. The game begins at Noon and will air on Pac-12 Insider.