STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team dropped its home opener Friday evening, falling to Cal State Fullerton, 94-91, in double overtime at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
"We didn't have the necessary defensive stops and rebounds to win this game," Head Coach
Leonard Perry said after the game. "I was disappointed about the outcome, but the team fought and gave everything they had."
The Tigers (2-2) had four players score in double figures, with
Jordan Ivy-Curry leading the way with a team-high 19 points. Scoring in double figures for the fourth-straight game, Ivy-Curry shot 40.0 percent from the field (six-for-15) and connected on four of his eight three-point attempts. The sophomore from La Marque, Texas, continues to rank among the league's best scorers in the early stages of the season, ranking sixth in the West Coast Conference in points per game with 18.5.
Cam Denson tied his career-high in points with 16, shooting a team-best 66.7 percent (six-for-nine) from the field. Denson, scoring 16 points in back-to-back games, improved his season shooting percentage to 68.2, ranking first on the team in that offensive category. The sophomore from Compton, Calif., continues to shoot well beyond the three-point line as he connected on three of his five attempts against the Titans (3-1).
Tyler Beard and
Nick Blake also reached double-digit points totals as Beard scored 15 points while Blake played a crucial part in the later stages of the contest, scoring all of his 14 points in the second half.
After a tough defensive battle in the first half of play, the Tigers trailed by nine, 45-36, at the 15:45 mark of the second half. Despite the deficit, the Tigers began to chip away and used a 14-4 run to take a one-point lead, 50-49, at the 10:36 mark of the half.
The Tigers continued to cruise in the back end of the second half, extending the lead to 68-60 at the 2:22 mark. The Titans recovered quickly and capped off a 10-2 run with a three-point basket by Jalen Harris to force overtime with three seconds left on the clock.
After an evenly matched first overtime period, the Titans outscored the Tigers, 13-10, in double overtime to secure the narrow victory.
Pacific returns to action at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, as the team faces off against Mount St. Mary's at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
