LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team (22-9, 10-5) continued their historic season on Thursday night, defeating Loyola Marymount (10-19, 4-11), 60-53 at Gersten Pavilion for their 10th overall win in WCC competition.
 
Securing their third series sweep of conference play, the Tigers battled back from a tough first half to secure the victory. With the win, UOP is now one of only 27 teams in Division-I with 22 victories on the year.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
 
First Half-

• Although the Lions would score the first five points of the contest, Pacific tallied their first basket on a jump shot by freshman Daniss Jenkins at 18:19.
• In the following minutes, senior Jahlil Tripp netted the next five points for the Tigers to even the score at 7 at the first media timeout (15:17).
• Near the halfway point, UOP took their first lead of the night on a three-pointer by sophomore Jahbril Price-Noel at the 12:15 mark, making the score 11-9 in favor of Pacific.
• Coming alive off the bench, junior Amari McCray recorded three of the next four field goals for the Tigers over a 3:17 stretch as UOP was locked at 19 with LMU with 5:34 remaining in the half.
• Despite two more baskets from graduate transfer Austin Vereen and Tripp, Pacific struggled on offense to close the half, heading into the locker room trailing the Lions, 26-23.

Second Half-

• Heating up when called upon, McCray netted the first two of his thirteen second half points on a layup just 51 seconds into play.
• Shortly thereafter, the Lions would use a quick run to gain a seven-point advantage, but junior Broc Finstuen kept the Tigers within striking distance with a steal and fast-break layup at the 14:25 mark.
• Regaining the lead, McCray converted on another layup at 9:38, putting Pacific on top of LMU, 41-39.
• Just a few minutes later, junior Jeremiah Bailey kept the Tigers out in front of the Lions, 49-43, on a jump shot with 7:11 on the clock.
• Showing up when it mattered most, freshman Pierre Crockrell II joined the scoring party with a jumper of his own, giving UOP the 53-48 advantage with 3:43 remaining.
• Scoring the final five points for Pacific, Price-Noel was clutch for the Tigers down the stretch as UOP closed out the road win, 60-53, to sweep the season series from LMU for the first time since rejoining the WCC in 2013-14.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Enjoying a dominant night on the hardwood, McCray was tabbed the City of Stockton Human Resources Hardworking Player of the Game after finishing with a new career-high of 19 points while also flirting with a double-double, tallying 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
• Battling throughout the night, Tripp notched his 22nd double-digit scoring performance of the season, recording 10 points and 6 rebounds for the Tigers in the victory.
• Providing a much-needed spark off the bench, Finstuen delivered in key moments down the stretch for UOP, recording 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal against the Lions.
• Overall, Pacific led the Lions in points off turnovers (18-6) bench points (44-6) and points in the paint (38-10).
• Historically, the 10 conference victories by the Tigers this season mark the first time a team other than BYU, Saint Mary's and Gonzaga has reached this win total since the WCC changed the conference schedule to 16 games.
• Additionally, Pacific's 22 overall wins match the school's most wins in the regular season since 2005-2006, when UOP finished 24-8/12-2.
•  Catching fire at the right time, the Tigers have notched a 7-3 overall record in their last 10 games following tonight's win.

UP NEXT:
Having officially secured the four seed in the upcoming WCC Tournament, the Tigers will close out their 2020 regular season schedule at the University of San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 29. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm at Jenny Craig Pavilion. The contest will be broadcast live at game time through Stadium (pacifictigers.com). Live stats will also be available on pacifictigers.com.
 
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.