STOCKTON, Calif. -- Despite 23-point performances from Alphonso Anderson and Luke Avdalovic, the Pacific men's basketball team fell to Santa Clara, 84-70, Wednesday evening at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
The Tigers (5-11, 0-2) started the game fast and jumped out to a 10-5 lead at the 17:16 mark of the first half. Avdalovic led the Tigers in scoring during the first half, tallying 18 points, and shot 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from the floor. The junior from Folsom, Calif., recorded six of the Tigers' first 10 points of the game and shot 50 percent (two-for-four) from beyond the arc. Avdalovic finished the game with a season-high 23 points and is now averaging 17.3 points per game in conference games.
 
The Tigers led by five points, 23-18, midway through the first half, but the Broncos (11-5, 1-0) finished the final 10 minutes on a 23-13 run and led, 41-36, at the halftime break.
 
In the second half for the Tigers, Anderson came alive, scoring 18 of his season-high 23 points in the final 20 minutes of action. Anderson, who is second on the team, averaging 11.1 points per game, shot 63.6 percent (seven-for-11) from the floor in the second half. Anderson was also the lone Tiger to record a three-point basket during the second half. The senior from Tacoma, Wash., also had season-highs in minutes played (34), field goals made (nine), and field goals attempted (14).
 
With the Broncos holding their largest lead of the game, 74-56, at the 6:13 mark of the second half, the Tigers embarked on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits. The Broncos, however, outscored the Tigers by five and secured the win with an 8-2 run to finish the game.
 
"We're doing some things, and the kids are competing better," head coach Leonard Perry stated after the game. "Offensively, I thought we played much better than we did in the second half of the BYU game … We just have to keep fighting and climbing and try to find the best ways for us to win."
 
Pacific returns to action Saturday, Jan. 15, as the Tigers travel to take on Saint Mary's in a West Coast Conference contest starting at 4:30 p.m.