Jan. 8, 2011

Box Score

Stockton, Calif. - With time winding down, senior Pat Eveland hit a 23-footer to lead the Pacific men's basketball team past the visiting UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Saturday, January 8. The win moved the Tigers to 9-7 on the year and 2-2 in the Big West while the Gauchos fell to 8-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

A layup by James Nunnally initiated an 8-0 run by UCSB to open the game. The Tigers went 0-9 from the field, including four missed three-point shots, before senior forward Sam Willard (Pierre, S.D.) scored Pacific's first basket of the game with 13:42 to play in the half. Senior forward Terrell Smith (Federal Way, Wash.) cut the Gaucho lead in half with an excellent reverse layup before a jumper from UCSB's Orlando Johnson brought Santa Barbara's lead back up to six (10-6). Sophomore guard Allen Huddleston (Merced, Calif.) added to Pacific's tally with a 3-pointer from outside to make it 10-7 UCSB. Over the next six minutes, UCSB went on a 12-6 run to give them their largest lead of the game at 22-13. The Tigers scored the last five points of the first half, holding UCSB scoreless over the final 3:18 to make it 25-22 Gaucho lead at the break.

Senior guard Demetrius Young (Oklahoma City, Okla.) opened Pacific scoring in the second half with a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 25-25. Willard then hit one of two at the line to give Pacific their first lead of the game 26-25. In the following minutes, Pacific and UCSB engaged in a game of tag, each team scoring when the other took the lead. Williams scored in the paint to give Pacific a 31-29 lead, but three-point play from UCSB's Johnson gave the Gauchos a 32-31 lead. Pacific then score six straight on a three-pointer from Eveland and a three-point play by Smith created a 37-32 lead. An open three-point shot from Pacific's Young pushed the Tigers' lead to six (47-41), its largest of the game, with 7:41 left in regulation. UCSB battled back and tied the game at 52-52 on a three-pointer from Johnson with 1:52 remaining on the clock. Johnson came through for UCSB with a layup in the paint to give the Gauchos their first lead since the opening seconds of the first half. With 53.6 seconds remaining, Eveland went 2-for-2 from the line to tie the game at 54-54. On the next possession, UCSB's Jordan Weiner was called for traveling, giving the Tigers a chance to hold for the last shot. A last second three-pointer from Eveland gave the Tigers a 57-54 lead, with :00.3 remaining. The Gauchos threw a final attempt to midcourt, but were unable to get a shot off.

The Tigers out-rebounded UCSB 28-27 and 10-4 on the offensive end. That translated to a 12-7 edge in second chance points. Pacific also out-shot the Gauchos at the free throw line with 19 attempts to six for UCSB. The Tigers converted 15 of 19, while the Gauchos made all six of their attempts.

Eveland led the Tigers with 14 points, including the game winning three-pointer. Willard finished one rebound short of a double-double, scoring 11 points and acquiring 9 boards. Senior Nyika Williams (Kingston, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) scored 10 points and five rbounds. Orlando Johnson led the Gauchos with 27 points, 20 in the second half.

Pacific is next in action on Tuesday, January 11 at home against Cal State Bakersfield. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the Alex G. Spanos Center.