STOCKTON, Calif. - A hot shooting half and a stifling defense in the first 20 minutes propelled Pacific to a 74-58 win over Chicago State in the first game of The Cerebro Sports Jam on Monday. 

"I thought our energy throughout the game was good," said Pacific head coach Leonard Perry. "The defensive intensity that we played with tonight was much better than it has been."

The two teams combined to miss their first nine shots from the field before Pierre Crockrell II hit a pair of shots to give the Tigers an early 7-0. Pacific managed to extend its lead to double digits with seven-different scorers for a 16-3 lead through the first 11 minutes of the contest. 

Later in the half, Pacific went ahead by 23 points at 33-10, for its largest lead of the game and the season. The Tigers went into the halftime break with a 33-12 lead on the Cougars. The 12 points are the fewest on record by a Pacific opponent in a half.  
 
The Cougars' (2-3) Bryce Johnson scored all 24 of points in the second half to lead Chicago State. After scoring 12 in the first 20 minutes, Chicago State put up 46 in the final 20 minutes. 

The Tigers (3-3) spread the scoring among 10 players with four in double figures including Jordan Bell (12), Crockrell (12), Alphonso Anderson (10) and Luke Avdalovic (10) leading Pacific. Four-different Pacific players made multiple 3-pointers in the win as Avdalovic, Jalen Brown, Nick Blake and Jeremiah Bailey each hit two. The last time that Pacific had four players with multiple 3-pointers in a game was Feb. 8, 2020 against Pepperdine.
 
Bell was a rebound shy of a double double with a season-high nine rebounds to lead the Tigers. Plus, Avdalovic had three rebounds and two assists while Crockrell had seven assists and four rebounds to go along with a steal.

Next, Pacific will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday at 7 p.m. in its final game of The Cerebro Sports Jam.

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