Jan. 6, 2011

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team fell at the hands of the Cal Poly Mustangs, 43-39, at home at the Spanos Center on Thursday, January 6. The loss dropped the Tigers to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in the Big West while the Mustangs improved to 5-8 on the year and 1-1 in conference action.

It was a defensive struggle in the first half, as despite make just one of their first 13 shots from the field, the Tigers found themselves tied with Cal Poly (5-5) 11 minutes into the half. Senior Nyika Williams (Kingston, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) scored four points with makes on two consecutive possessions to give the Tigers a 7-5 lead. The Tigers pushed ahead 11-7 with 7:02 left after a pair of jumpers from senior Demetrece Young (Oklahoma City, Okla.). Senior Sam Willard (Pierre, S.D.) scored four straight next, as the Tigers took a 15-11 lead. Cal Poly's Shawn Lewis then scored four straight as the Mustangs went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-15 lead with 2:48 to play in the half. A free throw from Williams accounted for the only other point in the half as Cal Poly held a 17-16 halftime edge. Neither team hit a three-pointer in the first half as the Tigers were 0-13 from behind the arc and Cal Poly missed all three attempts.

The Tigers opened the second half with a 13-6 run, including seven straight points from Young, as Pacific took a 29-23 lead with 15:10 to play in the game. After Cal Poly cut it to 30-27, Pacific took its largest lead of the game (34-27) on a jumper from Young and a pair of free throws from Williams. Pacific would then go cold from the field again, as Cal Poly took advantage of 10 straight Tiger misses and four turnovers. The Mustangs outscored the Tiger 11-0 over that seven minute stretch to take a 38-34 lead with 3:32 to play in the game. Junior Jose Rivera (Brentwood, Calif.) hit a clutch three-pointer to cut it to 38-37 with 3:01 to go. Neither team scored in the next two minutes, but the Mustangs took a 40-37 lead after a pair of free throws from Wil Donahue with 1:09 left. Senior Terrell Smith (Federal Way, Wash.) answered with a pair of free throws to cut it to 40-39. Donahue tipped in his own miss with :25 seconds to play and Young's three-pointer on the Tigers' next possession was blocked by Maliik Love. David Hanson hit one of two free throws to put the game away.

Young was the only Tiger to score in double figures with 13 points, while Willard added 14 rebounds. Williams had nine points and six rebounds.

The Tigers shot just 27.5 percent for the game, making just two of 23 three-point attempts. It was the lowest scoring total for Pacific since March 10, 2001, when the Tigers dropped a 50-38 contest to Utah State in the title game at the Big West Tournament.

Pacific is next in action on Saturday, Jan. 8, with a home game against UC Santa Barbara. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Spanos Center.