STOCKTON, Calif. -- The Pacific men's basketball team returns to action as the Tigers host San Francisco Monday evening in a West Coast Conference clash at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
At home, the Tigers returned to the win column Saturday evening, defeating Loyola Marymount, 69-68. Jeremiah Bailey was crucial throughout 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.
 
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.
 
Luke Avdalovic also scored in double figures to help propel the Tigers to victory. 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.
 
San Francisco enters the contest with an overall 21-7 and sits in third place in the conference standings. Winners of three of the past five games, the Dons are coming off a narrow 69-64 loss at Saint Mary's on February 17.
 
The Dons are led by Jamaree Bouyea, who leads the team in scoring. Bouyea averages 17.3 points per game and is one of three Dons averaging double figures. Yauhen Massalski, the San Diego transfer, is averaging a near double-double, with 14.2 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game, while Khalil Shabazz contributes 12.9 points per game.
 
Monday's meeting will be the 111th time these two programs have faced off, with San Francisco holding a 76-34 edge. The Tigers held an upper hand over the Dons to start the rivalry, earning the first three wins by a combined slim margin of 77-67. However, the Dons soon took over, winning 48 of the next 64 contests, including winning a record 19 straight when the teams were conference members.
 
Despite the Dons dominating the competition throughout the years, one of the significant moments for the Tigers in the series was the West Coast Athletic Conference championship game in 1967, which Pacific won to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers fell one game short of the NCAA Final Four in that same season, losing to eventual champions UCLA in the regional final.
 
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Stockton, Calif. • Alex G. Spanos Center
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TIGER TIDBITS

• Heating Up: Bailey is hitting his stride late in the season, scoring in double figures in six of the last eight games. He is averaging 14.8 points per game during that stretch.

• Crockrell II continues to be crucial in the assist category, tallying a season-high nine assists in the win over Loyola Marymount. His 112 total assists this season breaks his previous best 109 set in 2019-20.

• Alphonso Anderson continues to lead the team in multiple statistical categories, including points (11.3), offensive rebounds (45), and defensive rebounds (131).

• Automatic at the Line: Avdalovic has established himself as the team's best free-throw shooter. He's connecting on 89.4 percent of his attempts, ranking him fourth in the West Coast Conference. He has only missed five times in 47 attempts this season.

• Based on the Ken Pomeroy Conference Adjusted Winning Percentage Rankings, the Tigers are slated to finish eighth in the conference heading into the conference tournament after taking down Loyola Marymount.

• The Tigers rank fourth in the conference in steals with 6.5 steals per game. Bailey, Anderson, and Crockrell II all have at least 30 steals this season. 

• Pacific was selected eighth in the West Coast Conference preseason poll of the league's 10 head coaches. At the top of the preseason poll is Gonzaga, who secured nine of the 10 first-place votes. BYU, who received the other vote, was second, followed by Saint Mary's. Gonzaga, BYU, Santa Clara, and San Francisco each landed two players on the preseason All-WCC Team.