Jan. 28, 2008

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team battled back from a 16-point halftime deficit to take the lead, but eventually fell to Cal Poly, 69-64, on Monday, Jan. 28.

The loss dropped the Tigers to 14-6 on the season and 5-2 in the Big West Conference, while Cal Poly moved to 8-11 overall and 3-4 in conference play.

After scoring the first basket of the game, Cal Poly outscored the Tigers 15-1 to take a 12-point lead with 13:31 left in the first half. Pacific battled back with a 13-2 run behind four points from sophomore Casey Neimeyer (Woodland, Calif.) to cut the lead to 17-14 with 10:23 remaining. The Mustangs gradually took the lead back up to double digits, out-scoring the Tigers 10-1 over the final 3:44 of the half to take a 41-25 lead at the break. It was the largest halftime deficit of the year for Pacific.

The Tigers came storming back in the second half, using a 20-3 run to take a 45-44 lead with 10:20 left in the game. Sophomore Joe Ford (Altadena, Calif.) scored nine of his career-high 11 points in the run. Pacific was able to get a three point advantage (57-54) after a free throw by junior Steffan Johnson (Kent, Wash.). The Mustangs then hit three of their next four free throws, to even the game. The Tigers would take their final lead at 59-57 with 2:55 remaining after two free throws from junior Anthony Brown (Sacramento, Calif.). Cal Poly would then score the next eight points, to take a 65-59 with :34 seconds left. The Tigers would score the next four points to cut the lead to 65-63 with :27 seconds left after layups by Johnson and Neimeyer. The Mustangs hit their final four free throws to seal the victory.

Cal Poly missed just two free throws (26-28), to shoot 92.9% from the line. The Tigers shot just 60.0% (12-20) from the free throw line. The Tigers out-shot Cal Poly 50.0%-38.3% from the field, holding the Mustangs to just 5-of-21 shooting from the field in the second half.

Johnson led the Tigers with 21 points and seven assists. Neimeyer added a career-high 14 points.

Lorenzo Keeler led the Mustangs with 15 points.

Pacific returns to the floor on Saturday, Feb. 2 as Pacific plays UC Davis as the nightcap of a doubleheader with the women's team. The women's game is scheduled to tip at 4:45 p.m., while the men's game is set to begin at 7 p.m.