STOCKTON, Calif. – The one-two tandem of
Alphonso Anderson and
Sam Freeman led Pacific to a 65-46 win over Stanislaus State in the home opener for the Tigers at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Anderson (18) and Freeman (14) combined for 32 points in the win.
The win evens the record at 2-2 and is the first home win for Pacific head coach
Leonard Perry as the Tigers were excited to play in front of their home fans.
"I thought it was great to be back playing in front of our home fans," said Perry. "We had a great crowd, despite some lapses in the game, I thought we played well."
The contest does not impact the record of Stanislaus State, which was playing the contest as an exhibition game. Nine Warriors broke into the scoring ledger as Marlon Short, who scored a team-high nine points.
Anderson hit a 3-pointer and completed a 3-point play to give the Tigers an early 10-3 lead on the Warriors. He would go onto make his first four shots from the field en route to 12 first half points to go along with six rebounds on his way to his first double double. He finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
"I have been focusing on my rebounding, Coach has been getting on me about it," said Anderson. "I've got to rebound at a high level and focus on getting to the glass to help my team win games."
To go along with the success of Anderson, fellow transfer
Sam Freeman was 6-for-6 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line as he finished with 14 points – all of which came in the first half. The Tigers stretched the early lead to as much as 18 on a pair of occasions in the opening half.
For the game, the duo was joined in double figures by
Jeremiah Bailey, who added 14 points respectively.
Stanislaus State started the second half on a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to eight, 42-34 with 12:38 left in the contest. After the early run by the Warriors, the Tigers blew the contest wide open with 14 straight as Anderson and Blake accounted for six apiece.
Next, Pacific will host UTEP on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The Tigers won the last meeting on Nov. 12, 2010, in the season opener for both teams.
Highlights
