STOCKTON, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team (15-7, 3-3) fell to BYU (15-6, 4-2) by a final score of 74-60 on Thursday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
After a back-and-forth first half, the Tigers could not find any momentum in the final twenty minutes as the Cougars caught fire and used a  21-0 run to take the lead for good.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
 
First Half-

• Coming out of the gates on fire, the Tigers scored the first eight points of the game and took an 8-0 lead at the 17:22 mark after a timeout by BYU.
• As both teams battled back and forth, Pacific stayed on top of the Cougars by three after an Amari McCray layup near the halfway mark at 10:25.
• Despite a quick run from BYU, the Tigers regained the lead on a Jahlil Tripp layup with 5:52 remaining in the half, making the score 29-28 in favor of UOP.
• Unfortunately, Pacific could not find more momentum to close out the half and headed into the locker room trailing the Cougars, 33-29.
   

Second Half-

• Kicking off the second half in style, freshman Pierre Crockrell II nailed a floater at 19:08 to keep UOP within four points of BYU.
• Although the Cougars would jump out to a nine-point lead in the following minutes, senior Jahlil Tripp converted an and-one at 16:29 to keep the Tigers within two points of their conference rival.
• Following back-to-back three pointers by graduate transfer Austin Vereen and junior Jeremiah Bailey, Pacific jumped back in front of the Cougars, 53-51, at the 10:41 mark.
• Soon after, BYU used a 21-0 run to take a nineteen-point lead with 3:40 remaining in the contest, 72-53.
• Unable to claw back in the final minutes, the Tigers ultimately fell to the Cougars by a final score of 74-60.

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Despite the loss, Tripp was named the City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the game after recording his seventh double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and one assist.
• Junior James Hampshire also flirted with a double-double by tallying 8 points and 9 rebounds for UOP.
• The Tigers led the Cougars in points off turnovers (11-8), second chance points (11-2), bench points (23-4) and points in the paint (40-34).

 
UP NEXT: Pacific will hit the road for another crucial WCC matchup when they travel to No. 2 Gonzaga on Saturday, Jan. 25. The Tigers will aim to get back in the win column after dropping their two previous contests at Santa Clara and at home versus BYU. The game will be broadcast live at 7:00 pm on The WCC Network.
 
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