STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team continues West Coast Conference play when it travels to take on San Diego at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5, and Pepperdine at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 7.
The Tigers (8-9, 1-1) closed out the first week of conference play last Saturday with a 78-72 win over Loyola Marymount, earning the team's first WCC win of the season. Nick Blake led the team offensively against the Lions, scoring a career-high 23 points while shooting 50 percent (seven-for-14) from the field.
Leading the team in second-half scoring, Blake paced the Tigers with 17 points as the team never relinquished the lead during the final 20 minutes of play. Scoring over 30 percent of his points against the Lions at the free-throw line, the junior from Las Vegas, Nev., connected on seven of his eight attempts, increasing his season total to 70 percent.
Jordan Ivy-Curry and Keylan Boone also helped propel the Tigers to the win as the duo combined for 21 points. Boone, who continues to be one of the team's most efficient shooters, scored 10 points on 57.1 percent (four-for-seven) shooting. Ivy-Curry added 11 points off the bench, reaching double figures for the ninth time this season.
San Diego enters Thursday's contest after splitting the opening week of conference games, falling at Saint Mary's in the opener before upsetting San Francisco, 80-68, on the road last Saturday. Sitting a half-game up on the Tigers for sixth place in the conference standings, the Toreros (8-8, 1-1) erased a 15-point deficit against the Dons, securing the win with two players surpassing the 20-point threshold.
Jase Townsend leads the Toreros and ranks fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 15.8 points per game. Townsend, playing in his second season with the team, has recorded four 20-point scoring performances this season, including tallying 22 points in the win at San Francisco last week.
Eric Williams Jr., Marcellus Earlington, and Sigu Sisoho Jawara give the Toreros multiple scoring options, averaging 15.1, 14.6, and 12.4 points per game, respectively.
Defensively, Williams Jr. averages 10.4 rebounds per game as he is the lone team member averaging a double-double through 16 games this season. Jaiden Delaire leads the Toreros and ranks 18th in the WCC with nine blocks.
The Tigers hold a 14-10 advantage over the Toreros in 24 games since the first-ever meeting in 1979. Since rejoining the conference for the 2013-14 season, the Tigers have defeated the Toreros 11 times, with five coming on the road at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Only competing in one conference game last week, Pepperdine enters the second week of conference play after falling at #9 Gonzaga, 111-88. The Waves (7-8, 0-1) currently sit in eighth place in the conference standings and will face off against Santa Clara before their matchup against the Tigers.
Ranking second in the WCC in scoring, Maxwell Lewis leads the Waves offensively, averaging 19.4 points per game. Bumping his scoring average by over eight points from last season, the standout sophomore has scored 20 or more points in five straight games, including adding 20 in the loss at Gonzaga. Lewis also recorded a career-high 30 points in a win over Northern Arizona earlier in the season.
Houston Mallette ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.3 points per game, while Mike Mitchell Jr. and newcomer Jevon Porter give the Waves other offensive options, averaging 11 and 10.9 points, respectively.
Defensively, Carson Basham leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference in blocks with 19, while Lewis and Boubacar Coulibaly have contributed 16 blocks apiece. Porter leads the team in rebounds per game at 7.5 and total rebounds with 112.
Facing off the 76th time in program history, the Tigers hold a slight edge over the Waves, winning 41 games since the first-ever meeting during the 1947-48 season. The programs split the two-game series a season ago, with the Tigers erasing a 15-point deficit at home, earning an 81-76 win on February 3.
For more information about the 2022-23 season and future events, follow Pacific men's basketball on social media and download the Pacific Athletics mobile app.
