STOCKTON, Calif. - Pacific men's basketball (0-1) opened its 2023-24 season at home in a close contest with the Sam Houston Bearkats (1-0). The Tigers and Bearkats played toe-to-toe in the first half and went into the locker room tied at 25. Sam Houston opened the second half with a 9-0 run and Pacific cut the lead to four on several occasions before dropping the contest, 64-57.
 
In the low scoring affair, the Tigers opened the first half shooting 35.7 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from beyond the arc. Sam Houston also got off to a slow start, opening with 37.5 percent shooting from the floor, while going one of six from deep.
 
Sam Houston scored 25 points off turnovers, compared to 11 for Pacific. The Bearkats got to the free throw line 24 times in the second half, scoring 17, accounting for nearly half their 39 points in the half.
 
The Tigers found their success from their bench as they outscored the Bearkats' bench, 25-7. Senior transfer guard Lesown Hallums, Jr. led that charge for the Tiger bench as he tallied 14 points, shooting seven of nine from the floor. Senior Judson Martindale scored seven for the Tigers, playing some meaningful minutes off the bench in the second half.
 
Senior guard Donovan Williams also had 14 points to match the team high. He shot 46 percent (6-13) from the floor. Juniors Cam Denson and Tyler Beard had six points each. Denson hit three of four from the floor. 
 
Fouls and turnovers bogged down the Tigers late into the game but they were able to keep it close for the duration. Shooting woes continued in the second half of play as the Tigers went 0-9 from three-point range, but still had the necessary spark to stay in the game throughout the night.
 
The Tigers travel to face California on Friday night for their second game of the season.