March 13, 2008

Final Stats

Anaheim, Calif. - Trailing 55-44 with 3:33 remaining, the Pacific men's basketball team had a chance to snatch away a victory, but a last second shot bounced away as the Tigers fell to UC Irvine, 57-56 in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament on Thursday, Mar. 13.

With the loss, Pacific finished the season 21-10, while UC Irvine moved to 17-15 and advances to face the No. 1 seed, UC Santa Barbara, on Friday, Mar. 14.

After a slow start by both teams through the first media timeout, the Anteaters stormed out front of the Tigers behind a 16-6 run to capture their first double-digit lead of the game, 22-10 with 11 minutes to play. During the five minute run, the Anteaters were paced by Hunter who posted 14 of the team's first 22 points on his way to the game high.

With UC Irvine out front, Pacific responded with an 11-4 run of its own over the next five minutes, cutting into the Anteaters lead to bring the game back within single digits. The Tigers were able to climb within five points at 26-21 on five consecutive points by Brown, including a three-pointer. Brown finished the half with nine points. From that point, the team's traded baskets as UC Irvine went into the break holding on to its five point advantage at 30-25.

The team's continued to trade shots out of the locker rooms with neither team taking control of the half through the first media timeout. However, a 10-2 run after the timeout broke open the contest as UC Irvine recaptured its double-digit advantage at 44-31 with 11:20 to play in the game. The Anteaters would push their lead to its largest of 14 points at 47-33 with 8:29 to play before the Tigers would stop the UC Irvine run.

Down big, Pacific began to chip away at the Anteaters lead, spurred on by six straight points from Troyer including three free-throws with 6:38 to play. The free-throws cut the Anteaters lead down to eight, dropping their advantage below 10 points for the first time since the 13:44 mark of the second half.

Behind a 15-8 run by the Tigers, Pacific cut UC Irvine's lead to a single point with 16.7 second remaining in the game. After a steal by the Tigers put Pacific in position to capture the come-from-behind victory, Patrick Sanders saved the Anteaters' season with a block of junior Michael Kirby's layup put back attempts as time expired. Sanders finished the game with three blocks, both coming in the final 1:08 of the contest.

UC Irvine finished the game 17-of-43 (39.5%) from the floor while Pacific went 18-of-50 (36.0%) from the field. On the glass, the Anteaters held the advantage, 35-31.