MALIBU, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team (13-4, 1-0) defeated Pepperdine (7-8, 0-1), 59-56, on Thursday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
Aiming to get back in the win column after dropping their previous contest at UC Irvine on Dec. 28, the Tigers kicked off WCC play with their first win of the new calendar year.
 
UOP has now won eight of their last ten games, beginning their conference schedule with a victory for the first time since 2015-2016.

 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
 
First Half-

• Catching fire early on, freshman Daniss Jenkins scored 6 of Pacific's first 10 points as the Tigers jumped out to a 10-2 lead less than five minutes into the contest.
• Battling back and forth with the Waves to open play, the score was knotted at 17 at the 10:00 minute mark in the first half.
• Unfortunately, Pepperdine would then use a 15-2 run to take a 32-19 lead with 2:48 remaining.
• Despite this run, Pacific countered with back-to-back threes from graduate student Gary Chivichyan and sophomore Jahbril Price-Noel to power an 11-2 streak of their own.
• Heating up at the right time, the Tigers headed into the locker room trailing by just three points, 34-31.

Second Half-

• Coming out of the break, UOP stayed within striking distance of the Waves on a dunk from Shaquillo Fritz at 17:54.
• Although Jahlil Tripp would score two consecutive baskets in the following minutes, Pacific would not score again until the 10:49 mark on two free throws from Chivichyan.
• Turning up the intensity when called upon, freshman Pierre Crockrell II brought the Tigers to within one point of Pepperdine on a layup at 9:11.
• Just like he has all season, Chivichyan delivered for Pacific in a crucial moment, draining his second triple of the game at 7:19 to tie the game at 49.
• Locking down on defense, UOP continued to deny the Pepperdine attack as the half wound down, using the performances of Chivichyan and Tripp to gain a four-point lead with 1:07 remaining.
• Sealing the victory from the stripe, Tripp converted on one-of-two free throws with four seconds left before Colbey Ross missed a last-second heave at the buzzer.
• The Tigers would go on to defeat Pepperdine for the fifth consecutive time in the regular season, winning by a final score of 59-56.

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Coming up clutch when needed, Chivichyan was named the City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the Game set a new season-high with 19 points while also adding five rebounds, one block and one steal.
• Tripp continued his all-conference campaign, dominating throughout the night to finish with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and one steal.
• Price-Noel scored his second-highest point total of the season with 9 points while also finishing with three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Overall, the Tigers led the Waves in bench points (36-19), points in the paint (22-10) and fast-break points (18-7). 

UP NEXT:
Pacific will return home to the Alex G. Spanos Center on Saturday, Jan. 4 to face the defending WCC-Tournament champion Saint Mary's Gaels. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm PT. The first 250 fans in the door will receive a free coffee mug courtesy of 209 Furniture.
 
FOLLOW US:
For more updates and more information on the 2019-20 Pacific men's basketball team, be sure to follow @PacificMensBB on Twitter, @pacificmensbb on Instagram and @PacificMensBB on Facebook.