Dec. 21, 2009

Box Score

Santa Clara, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team fell at Santa Clara by a score of 54-53 on Monday, December 21. The Tigers are now 7-4 on the season, while Santa Clara improved to 7-5.

The Tigers took a 5-0 lead after a layup from senior Joe Ford (Altadena, Calif.) and a three-pointer by junior Terrell Smith (Federal Way, Wash.). Pacific led 7-2 before an 11-6 run by the Broncos knotted it up at 13-13 with 10:33 to play in the first half. The Broncos then took a 21-17 lead with five minutes to go, before the Tigers used a pair of three-pointers from freshman Allen Huddleston (Merced, Calif.) to finish the half on a 10-5 run and take a 27-26 lead at the break.

Santa Clara outscored Pacific 6-2 in the first minute and a half of the second half to take a 32-29 lead, but the Tigers bounced right back with a 7-2 run to take a 36-34 lead on a three-pointer by junior Pat Eveland (San Diego, Calif.). Four quick points switched it to a two-point Bronco advantage. Pacific then outscored Santa Clara 8-2 after five points from Huddleston to go up 44-40 with 9:27 to play. The Tigers led again by four (52-48) with 1:50 to go after a layup from junior Demetrece Young (Oklahoma City, Okla.). The Broncos scored on a pair of free throws and one of two free throws by Ford made it a 53-50 Tiger lead with :48 seconds to go. Robert Smith scored on a layup with :33 seconds to play and a traveling violation turned it back over to the Broncos. Two more free throws by the Broncos' leading scorer Marc Trasolini (17 points) made it a 54-53 lead for Santa Clara with :12 seconds to play. Eveland's three-point attempt at the buzzer missed off the front rim and Santa Clara came away with the victory.

Huddleston led the Tigers with a career-high 14 points, while Ford scored in double digits for the second straight game. Willard pulled down a career-high 15 rebounds for the Tigers. Pacific made just three free throws, and were outshot 25-8 from the line.

The Tigers are next in action at Oklahoma State on Tuesday, December 29. Game time is set for 7:00 pm. (CT).