STOCKTON, Calif. – Led by five double-digit scorers, the Pacific men's basketball team dropped a narrow 99-90 decision to #6 Gonzaga Saturday evening at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
"I'm proud of this group," Head Coach Leonard Perry said after the game. "We competed and put ourselves in a position to win against an outstanding opponent. 
 
In a breakout performance, Jordan Ivy-Curry led the Tigers (10-12, 3-4) in scoring, tallying 17 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Shooting 50 percent (five-for-10) from the field throughout the game, Ivy-Curry came alive in the second half, recording 14 in the final 20 minutes of play. The La Marque, Texas sophomore also led a team that shot 91.3 percent (21-for-23) from the free-throw line, as he connected on all of his seven attempts.
 
Nick Blake also contributed off the bench, propelling the second unit with 16 points. Blake shot a stellar 45.5 percent (five-for-11) from the field and hit on all five free-throw attempts helping him reach double figures for the first time in five games. The junior from Las Vegas, Nev., along with Sam Freeman, led the team with four rebounds.
 
Keylan Boone, Luke Avdalovic, and Judson Martindale poured in 15, 13, and 12 points for the Tigers. The trio shined from beyond the arc as Boone and Avdalovic contributed three apiece, while Martindale connected on two of his three attempts from the three-point line.
 
Controlling the pace of play through most of the first half, the Tigers built a seven-point advantage, their largest game lead, 22-15, at the 13:13 mark. The Bulldogs (17-4, 6-1) returned fire shortly after, using an 8-0 run to edge ahead of the Tigers, 23-22, less than three minutes later.
 
The Tigers continued to battle throughout the first 20 minutes of play, holding off multiple blows from the Zags. A Martindale three-point basket gave the Tigers a narrow 47-45 advantage with 31 seconds left on the clock before a Rasir Bolton fadeaway jumper tied the game heading into the halftime break.
 
The Zags jumped ahead at the start of the second half, courtesy of a 12-0 run that was capped off by 10-straight points from Drew Timme. Timme finished the game with a career-high 38 points.
 
Trailing 61-49 at the 15:51 mark of the second half, the Tigers responded, cutting the deficit to three, 65-63, under two minutes later. Cam Denson led the charge during the rally, scoring six straight points to cap off the 14-4 run.
 
Never relinquishing the lead in the second half, the Zags outscored the Tigers, 34-27, in the final seven and a half minutes to secure the win.
 
Pacific returns to action at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, as it travels to take on Santa Clara in a West Coast Conference contest at the Leavey Center.