MALIBU, Calif. -- The No. 5 Pepperdine men's water polo team is on to the Golden Coast Conference Tournament Championship thanks to an overtime win over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. It will mark the first time the team has reached the championship game since winning the inaugural tournament in 2016.

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The Waves (23-7) got hat tricks from both Balazs Kosa and Sean Thomas, lifting the team over the Gauchos (20-7) who had three players with two goals apiece, including Ivan Gvozdanovic, Cole Brosnan and Mason Chambliss.

The game started with defense as Pepperdine held a 2-1 lead. The Gauchos would one-up the Waves in the second quarter to send it to halftime tied at 4-4.

The second half was much like the first, as UCSB scored the first two goals of the third quarter. Thomas tied the game with 4:14 to play, but the Gauchos retook the lead a minute later. Thomas tied the game again with 1:55 to play and the game moved to overtime tied at seven.

In the first overtime period Thomas completed his hat trick to put the Waves back on top. Then, after UCSB tied the game at eight, Kosa scored his third of the game to give the Waves a 9-8 lead. Ferrari then gave the Waves an insurance goal that would prove the game winner as UCSB scored with 13 seconds left to come within one goal. The Waves held on to the ball and secured a spot in the Championship on Sunday.

Pepperdine will face Long Beach State for the 2019 GCC Tourmament Title at 1 pm. The Gauchos will face Pacific in the third place game at 11 am.