STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team competes in the California Thanksgiving Jam as it hosts Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and Idaho on Friday, Nov. 25, at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
The Tigers (2-2) are coming off a two-overtime thriller against Cal State Fullerton in the home opener last week, as Jordan Ivy-Curry led the team with 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 continues to improve his game through the first four games of the season, tying his season-high with 16 points against the Titans. Denson shot a team-best 66.7 percent (six-for-nine) from the field, improving his season shooting percentage to 68.2, ranking first on the team in that offensive category. The sophomore from Compton, Calif., also continues to shoot well beyond the three-point line as he connected on three of his five attempts against the Titans.
In the team's first matchup of the week, Pacific faces off against Mount St. Mary's for the first time in program history. The Mountaineers (2-3), competing in their inaugural season as a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, are coming off a 73-68 win at Cal Poly last Sunday.
Facing off against two high-end opponents in the early stages of the season, Mount St. Mary's fell at West Virginia in the season opener and dropped a narrow nine-point decision at USC on November 18.
The Mountaineers have three team members averaging double figures, with Jalen Benjamin leading the team with 18.8 points per game. Benjamin, scoring 10 or more points in every game this season, had a season-high 23 points in the win over Coppin State on November 11.
Following the non-conference contest against Mount St. Mary's, Pacific wraps up the California Thanksgiving Jam with a matchup against Idaho. Since the first-ever meeting against the Vandals (1-4) in 1977, the Tigers have only dropped two games in 18 contests. The last time the two programs faced off, the Tigers earned a 69-59 win in the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament at the Alex G. Spanos Center on March 23, 2009.
Isaac Jones leads the Vandals offensively, averaging 17.8 points per game. Divant'e Moffitt and Terren Frank also average double figures, while Jones leads the team in rebounds with 7.8 per game.
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