Jan. 17, 2008
Box Score
Stockton, Calif. - Behind a combined 68 points from juniors Anthony Brown (Sacramento, Calif.), Steffan Johnson (Kent, Wash.) and Chad Troyer (Seattle, Wash.), the Pacific men's basketball team defeated Cal State Fullerton, 89-82, on Thursday, Jan. 17.
The victory lifted the Tigers to 12-5 on the season and 3-1 in the Big West Conference. Cal State Fullerton, meanwhile, fell to 10-6 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Pacific fell behind early, as the Titans took a 6-0 lead nearly four minutes into the first half. The Tigers responded with an 11-2 run, spurred by three-pointers from Johnson and Troyer. Cal State Fullerton evened up the score at 19-19 with 8:31 remaining, before the Tigers took control of the first half with a 13-4 run. Brown scored six points in the run to give the Tigers a 32-23 lead. Pacific extended to the lead to 37-27 at halftime.
The Tigers were hot from three-point range starting the second half, hitting their first nine shots from behind the arc. Troyer hit two of his five second half three-pointers in the first three minutes to give Pacific a 16-point lead with 17:29 left in the game. After a couple of runs by the Titans cut the lead back to 12, the Tigers used another 11-4 run to extend the lead to 71-52 with 10:59 left. Cal State Fullerton then mounted a comeback, outscoring Pacific 18-5 over the next six and a half minutes to cut the lead back to six (76-70) with 4:18 to go. Josh Akognon scored 11 points in the run, including three three-pointers for the Titans. The Tigers scored the next four points to get the lead back up to 10, but five quick points on a three-pointer by Frank Robinson and a lay-up by Junior Russell cut the Tiger lead back to five (80-75) with 1:44 remaining. The Titans would not get closer than five the rest of the way as Pacific hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:17 of the game.
Troyer tied his career high with 24 points and added a career-high seven rebounds. Johnson had 24 points and six assists, while Brown had his fifth double-double of the season with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
The Tigers hit 14 three-pointers, which tied for the eighth most treys in a game in school history. Pacific hit 63.6% of its three-point attempts (14-22), and was 80.8% from the free throw line (21-26). The Titans shot 91.3% from the free throw line, hitting 21-of-23 attempts.
Akognon led all scorers with 30 points.
The Tigers are next in action with a home game against UC Irvine on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7:00 p.m. in the Spanos Center. The game will be televised by Fox Sports West Prime Ticket.
