Jan. 24, 2009

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - Fueled by a 16-5 run to open the second half and a career-high 13 points from junior Joe Ford (Altadena, Calif.), the Pacific men's basketball team defeated UC Santa Barbara, 58-36, on Saturday, Jan. 24.

The victory lifted the Tigers to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the Big West Conference, while UC Santa Barbara fell to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in conference play.

Pacific came out strong defensively, holding the Gauchos scoreless for the first four minutes and taking a 6-0 lead. Ford scored the first nine points, as the Tigers built an 11-5 lead with 13:20 left in the first half. UCSB then used an 11-2 run to grab a 16-13 lead with 5:46 to go in the first half. The Tigers then got a pair of three-pointers from seniors Chad Troyer (Seattle, Wash.) and Michael Kirby (North Highlands, Calif.) in an 8-0 to reclaim the lead at 21-16 with 2:30 left. The Gauchos outscored the Tigers 4-2 the rest of the half as Pacific held a 23-20 halftime lead.

A 12-2 start to the second half keyed by a pair of three-pointers from Troyer gave the Tigers a 13-point lead (35-22) with 17:23 left to play. The Gauchos cut the lead back to 10 on the next possession on a trey from Sam Phippen, but Pacific's lead would not fall below 10 the rest of the game. Another 8-2 run gave the Tigers a 43-27 lead with 10:14 left in the game. After UCSB cut it back to 45-32, the Tigers dashed ahead with another 10-2 run to put the game away, giving Pacific a 21-point lead (55-34) with just 2:38 to go.

Troyer had 14 points to lead the Tigers, hitting four three-pointers. Senior Bryan LeDuc (Corona, Calif.), making his first start of the year, had a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the team.

The Tigers shot just 25.0 percent in the first half (8-32), but responded in the second half with a 58.3 field goal percentage (14-24). The Gauchos hit just three of 21 three-point attempts in the game, 14.3 percent. Pacific was out-rebounded 22-15 in the first half, but held a 23-7 advantage in the second half to out-board UCSB 38-29 for the game. The 36 points allowed by Pacific is lowest opponent total since the Tigers defeated UCSB 64-36 on March 2, 2006.

The Tigers return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 31 as Pacific travels to UC Davis to face the Aggies at 7 p.m.