Feb. 10, 2007

Box Score

The Pacific men's basketball team improved to 9-14 overall and 5-5 in Big West Conference action with an 86-66 conference victory over UC Riverside (5-19, 1-9 Big West) on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

The Tigers fell behind early 4-0 as they turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions. Pacific used a 12-2 run to take a 17-11 lead with 12:48 left in the first half. Senior Michael White (Capitola, Calif.) scored six of his nine points during the run. The Tigers were able to extend their lead to as big as 14 in the first half, but the Highlanders outscored the Tigers 4-0 over the final minute to cut the lead to 38-28 at the break. Pacific out-rebounded the Highlanders 22-10, including five offensive boards that gave the Tigers a 12-2 advantage in second chance points.

After the Highlanders cut the Tigers' lead to 40-35, Pacific came out firing with a 19-3 to take a 21-point lead (59-38) with 12:06 left in the game. Senior Reggie Vezia (Vacaville, Calif.) sparked Pacific's outburst with seven points, including a three-pointer to cap the run. The Tigers' lead would not fall below 14 the rest of the way.

Pacific shot 63.3% from the field in the second half (19-30) and 55.6% for the game (30-54). The Tigers held a 43-25 rebounding edge, including a career-high nine boards for Vezia.

Four Tigers reached double figures in scoring in the game, led by senior Vezia's team-high 15 points. Senior Ben Pemberton (Hawkins, Texas) contributed a career-high 13 points off the bench for Pacific. Sophomore Steffan Johnson (Kent, Wash.) also added 13 points, while senior Anthony Esparaza (Bakersfield, Calif.) had 11 for Pacific.

Henrik Thomsen scored 28 points to pace the Highlanders.

The Tigers are next in action with a non-conference game at Montana on Saturday, Feb. 17. Game time is 2:00 p.m. (MT), 1:00 p.m. in Stockton.