Dec. 1, 2010

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Stockton, Calif. - A big second half surge by Pepperdine proved to be the difference as the Pacific men's basketball team suffered a 70-60 loss at home on Wednesday, December 1. The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-3 overall while the Waves improved to 3-5.

Sophomore Allen Huddleston (Merced, Calif.) turned around a 5-2 Pepperdine lead after nailing three consecutive three-pointers, putting Pacific ahead 11-6. Outstanding Tiger defense proved to be the difference in the first half, allowing only eight points through the first sixteen minutes of play, while forcing eight Pepperdine turnovers. Pacific held the Waves for over 14 minutes of the first half without a field goal. Pacific's largest lead of the game came after a good effort in the paint by senior Nyika Williams (Kingston, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), giving the Tigers a 27-8 lead with 4:23 to play. Pepperdine held the Tigers down the rest of the half, outscoring Pacific 8-0 to finish the half and cut the lead to 27-16 at the break.

The run by the Waves would carry over to the second half, as Pacific was outscored in a run that swelled from 8-0 at the end of the first half, to a 26-3 run at the 15 minute mark of the second half. The extended run gave Pepperdine a 34-30 lead after a three-pointer by Mychel Thompson. After a Keion Bell three-pointer gave the Waves a 46-39 lead with 9:54 to play, the Tigers made a surge of their own. Over the next two minutes Pacific used a 9-3 run behind six points from senior Demetrece Young (Oklahoma City, Okla.) to cut the lead to 49-48. The Waves held on to the lead and took to back to seven (60-53) before a three-pointer by senior Pat Eveland (San Diego, Calif.) at the 2:10 mark and a steal by senior Sam Willard (Pierre, S.D.) gave the Tigers a chance to cut even further into the lead. An offensive foul called against Willard and a technical foul charged to the bench turned a 60-56 lead into a 64-56 advantage after Bell hit the technical free throws and Gus Clardy scored on a layup with 1:25 to play. The Tigers did not get the lead under seven the rest of the way.

Willard led the Tigers in scoring for the sixth time in seven games, getting his sixth double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Huddleston tied his career high with 14 points, while Young contributed with 10 points and two assists. Keion Bell led the Waves with 25 points.

The Tigers shot just 38.9 percent from the field, and just 20.8 percent from three-point range. After Huddleston's third straight three in the first half, Pacific missed 15 straight shots from behind the arc. The Waves shot just 27.8 percent from the field in the first half, including just two of 14 in the first 16 minutes. Pepperdine shot 66.7 percent in the second half, to shoot 51.1 percent for the game.

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, December 4 with a 5:00 p.m. contest at Texas A&M College in Station, Texas. Listen live at www.pacifictigers.com.