Box Score STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team improved to a perfect 5-0 in season openers under head coach Damon Stoudamire with a thrilling 66-60 victory over UC Riverside on Wednesday afternoon at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Dominating throughout the night, senior Jeremiah Bailey set a new career-high with 25 points as the junior forward finished 7-for-11 shooting from the floor while also tying his career-high by knocking down 4-of-7 from behind-the-arc.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Pacific opened the contest with a strong first half, outscoring UC Riverside 38-27 in the opening period behind 11 first half points from Bailey, who led all scorers at intermission. 
• The Tigers kept the momentum coming out of the locker room as they continued a 9-0 scoring run into the first minute of the second half on field goals by Bailey and sophomore Daniss Jenkins, who finished with 10 points and was one of three Tigers to score in double figures (Bailey, Pierre Crockrell II).
• Pacific's lead ballooned to a game-high 17 points before the under 16:00 media timeout as Bailey scored in the paint to give the Tigers a 47-30 advantage before the break in action.
• Pacific kept the lead in double figures through the four-minute mark despite struggling to score for the final nine minutes of the contest. UOP, which led by 17 with 9:10 remaining, would score just 13 points the remainder of the game as the Highlanders chipped away at their deficit. 
• UC Riverside cut Pacific's lead to 58-51 on a Flynn Cameron three-pointer with 3:37 remaining. With 2:40 to go, Zyon Pullin converted a pair of free throw attempts to make it a five-point game at 58-53. 
• After a Jordan Bell layup gave Pacific a 60-53 advantage with 2:10 remaining, Cameron hit a layup for the Highlanders with 1:09 to go to again make it a five-point deficit for Riverside. 
• Over the final minute, however, UOP did not allow the Highlanders to get to within more than five points as Bailey sank a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining to put Pacific up eight, 63-55. 
• After Arinze Chidom hit a jump shot to get UC Riverside to within six with 16 seconds remaining, it was Bailey once again hitting a pair of three-throws with 13 seconds left to make it an eight-point advantage for Pacific. Crockrell would get to the line with five seconds remaining, nailing 1-of-2 from the stripe to give Pacific a 66-60 lead and ultimately seal the home victory.

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Bailey was named the Hardworking Player of the Game after finishing with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist.
• The starting backcourt of Crockrell and Jenkins, who are both true sophomores, finished with 20 total points as each tallied ten in the victory.
• Senior Broc Finstuen and Kansas State transfer Nigel Shadd were the leading rebounders for the Tigers with six and four, respectively.
• Pacific turned up the intensity on defense and took advantage of the Highlanders mistakes, scoring 23 total points off turnovers.
• With the victory, the Tigers improve to 15-3 all-time versus the Highlanders and have now defeated UC Riverside in seven consecutive meetings, dating back to 2012.

 
UP NEXT:
 Pacific welcomes Central Valley rival Fresno State to the Spanos Center for a matinee on Friday afternoon with the opening tip set for 3 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports AM 1280 locally and can be heard anywhere via the KWSX station using the iHeart Radio app.
 
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 For more updates and more information on the 2020-21 Pacific men's basketball team, be sure to follow @PacificMensBB on Twitter, @pacificmensbb on Instagram and @PacificMensBB on Facebook.