BERKELEY, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team (1-1) roared to its first win of the season, downing California (1-1) 87-79 on the road. It was the first time the Tigers beat a Pac-12 opponent since 1994, last beating Oregon State. It was also the first time since 1954 that California lost to the Tigers at home.
Hot shooting in the first half put the Tigers up at the break and defensive dominance through the final minutes of the game led to the stunning road win over the Pac-12 foe.
"They were locked in," head coach
Leonard Perry shared after the win, "We got off to a good start and we were in command for most of the first half. When Cal made the run in the second half, we were able to answer with stops, taking care of the ball, making open shots. We took a lot of good shots. They really executed down the stretch."
Pacific shot over 50 percent in the first half, hitting 16 shots from the floor and shooting 7 of 14 from three. Their bench continued to be a vital part of Pacific's success, as they produced 25 points in the first half.
Senior forward
Judson Martindale led the Tigers in the first half with 11 points, shooting 4 of 7 from the floor and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. Redshirt junior forward
Burke Smith added 10 more points for the Tigers coming off the bench in the first half, shooting 4 of 6 from the floor and 2 of 3 from three.
Hot handed Cal shooting in the second half put the Tigers in an early deficit, as the Bears rattled off a 9-2 run through the first four minutes out of the break. Pacific trailed by as many as 10 with 15:07 left in the game.
However, the Tigers made moves of their own, cutting off the Cal run at the source, by limiting shooting from the perimeter. The Bears opened the second half with three made threes, then went cold for the remainder of the game, shooting 4 of 13 from behind the arc in the second half.
While the Bears stagnated, the Tigers sparked to life. A 10-0 run capped off by back-to-back threes from senior guard
Donovan Williams catapulted the Tigers to a 71-62 lead with under six minutes to go. Another three from sophomore guard
Moe Odum put the Tigers up by 12 with less than four minutes remaining.
Williams dealt what was the likely final blow, as he put the Tigers up 81-70 with 57.0 left. Desperation settled in from the Bears as they outscored Pacific 9-6 in the final moments of the game, but it was too little too late.
Williams led the team with 23 points, a career best at Pacific, and six rebounds. He ended the night 7 of 10 from the floor, while shooting 50 percent from three. Odum scored 11 points shooting 42.8 percent from the floor and three.
Martindale ended with 15 points off the bench, including two late free throws to deliver the final nail to the coffin. Smith added 12 points, while freshman guard
Villiam Garcia Adsten added 7. The Tiger bench outscored Cal's 36-5.
"Those guys were locked in, zeroed in and ready to go," Perry said, "We never got hurt with the guys that we brought in. So, we maintained what we were doing. They did a great job stabilizing us when there was foul trouble in the second half. Everybody that played that came off the bench, contributed, that's incredible."
Pacific returns to action next week for another road trip. They head to Reno, Nev. to face Nevada on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
