STOCKTON, Calif. -- The Pacific men's basketball team, led by Jeremiah Bailey's game-high 22 points, powered past Loyola Marymount and earned a 69-68 West Coast Conference win Saturday evening at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Bailey was crucial in the game, scoring 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. The senior from Fairbanks, Alaska, recorded one of his best performances of the season as he shot 56.3 percent from the floor (nine-for-16), connected on one of his three three-point attempts, and tallied eight of the team's 31 rebounds.
 
Pacific (8-18, 3-8) jumped ahead early to begin the game, scoring on three of its first four possessions to take an 8-3 lead. The Lions (9-16, 2-11), capped off by an Eli Scott jump shot in the paint, went on an 11-0 run shortly after to take a 14-8 lead at the 13:43 mark of the first half. The game remained close throughout the first half, as the game was tied at three separate times. The Tigers pulled ahead late, scoring 11 points in the final six minutes, and held a narrow 36-33 halftime lead.
 
Luke Avdalovic led the Tigers in the first half, scoring a team-high 13 points. Avdalovic shot 66.7 percent (four-for-six) from the field and recorded three three-point baskets to help the Tigers rally from a first-half deficit. The junior from Folsom, Calif., finished the game with 17 points, leading the team in made three-point baskets, and tallied a career-high two blocks.
 
The game remained close at the start of the second half, as neither team gained an advantage. The Lions tallied a string of baskets together midway through the second half and took a 59-50 lead at the 6:56 mark of the second half. Facing their most significant deficit of the game, the Tigers outscored the Lions 19-9 the rest of the way to earn the one-point victory.
 
Bailey's play was significant towards the end of the second half as he scored 11 points in the final five minutes, including the game-winning layup from a Pierre Crockrell II no-look bounce pass to put the Tigers up one with under a minute to go.
 
Crockrell II ended the game with eight points and a season-high nine assists as he nearly recorded his second career double-double.
 
"I'm very proud of the kids," Head Coach Leonard Perry stated after the game. "We're starting to play some of our best basketball" "These kids continue to show up and we have to help them believe that they're getting better."
 
Pacific returns to action Monday, Feb. 21 as the Tigers take on San Francisco at the Alex G. Spanos Center at 6 p.m.