Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score

Missoula, Mont. - Senior Anthony Esparza (Bakersfield, Calif.) hit a driving layup with 14 seconds left in the game as the Pacific men's basketball team defeated Montana 78-77 on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Mont.

The Tigers are now 10-14 overall, while the Grizzlies are 14-13.

The Tigers got out to a hot start in the first half, hitting 11 of their first 12 shots from the field, on the way to a 12 point lead (31-19) with 8:58 left in the half. The Grizzlies cut the lead to five, but Pacific extended back out to a 44-34 lead at halftime. Senior Anthony Esparza (Bakersfield, Calif.) hit all four of his three-point attempts in the first half, leading the Tigers with 14 first half points.

Montana's Jordan Hasquet outscored the Tigers 10-4 over the first three minutes of the second half cut the lead to four (48-44). Pacific used an 8-0 run, including five points from Esparza, to extend the lead back to 12 (59-47) with 13:52 left in the game. A 15-4 run by the Grizzlies cut Pacific's lead to 63-62 with 8:40 left in the game. It was close the rest of the way, as Montana took a four point lead (74-70) with 3:20 left in the game. The Tigers scored on their next three possessions to regain the lead at 76-74 with 1:33 left in the game. Hasquet hit a three-pointer in the corner to give Montana a 77-76 lead with 38 seconds left to set up Esparza's game-winning shot.

Sophomore Anthony Brown (Sacramento, Calif.) had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Solomon HorseChief had 12 points for the Tigers. Senior Michael White (Capitola, Calif.) had 10 points, including two crucial free throws with two minutes left in the game.

The Tigers shot 56.9% for the game, including a season-best 66.7% from the field in the first half. Pacific also had a season-high tying 20 assists, including seven from HorseChief.

The Tigers are next in action against UC Davis on Monday, Feb. 19 in the Alex G. Spanos Center. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. for the Comcast SJTV telecast.