Feb. 9, 2008

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team improved to 17-6, 8-2 in the Big West Conference with a 70-55 win over Long Beach State on Saturday, Feb. 9. The 49ers fell to 5-17 (2-8 Big West) with the loss.

The Tigers charged out to a 24-10 lead with 11:45 left in the first half, using an 18-5 burst to take early command of the game. Donovan Morris then hit four straight three-pointers for the 49ers to key a 12-6 Long Beach State and cut the Tigers' lead to 30-22 with 7:37 left. The Tigers were able to extend the lead back to 10 (40-30) at the break.

After the 49ers were able to cut Pacific's lead to six (42-36) in the first two minutes, the Tigers bounced back with an 8-2 run to get back to a 50-38 lead with 15:38 remaining. The 49ers jabbed back with another 11-4 run all scored by Morris to cut the lead to 54-49 with 11:29 remaining in the game. Pacific's defense put the clamps on from that point, holding the 49ers to just six points over the final 11:27 of the game. The Tigers outscored the 49ers 16-6 the rest of the way to earn the victory.

The Tigers shot .540 (27-50) from the field, including .615 (16-26) from the field in the first half. Pacific's out-scored the 49ers 34-8 in bench scoring.

Junior Michael Kirby (North Highlands, Calif.) led the Tigers with 12 points, the first time he has led the team in scoring this year. Junior Steffan Johnson (Kent, Wash.) added 11 points with nine assists, while junior Anthony Brown (Sacramento, Calif.) scored 10 points. Junior Bryan LeDuc (Corona, Calif.) had nine points and a game-high six rebounds for the Tigers.

Morris scored 30 points to lead all scorers.

The Tigers are next in action with a game at UC Irvine on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7:00 p.m.