STOCKTON, Calif. - Pacific's men's basketball team (0-1) heads to the Bay Area to take on California (1-0) for its second game of the season. Having started 2023-24 at home, the Tigers face a true road test in the neighboring Golden Bears on Friday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Walter A. Haas Jr. Pavilion.
 
The Tigers came up short in a close game with Sam Houston on opening night, falling by seven at home. The low-scoring affair resulted in a 25-25 mark at the half, but a 9-0 Sam Houston run out of the break put the Tigers in a deficit through the remainder of the night. 
 
A lot of promise came from the Tigers' bench as they ignited the offense throughout the duration of Monday's contest. They produced 25 points to Sam Houston's 7, which included 14 points from senior transfer guard Lesown Hallums, Jr. 
 
California opened their season with a 71-66 win over St. Thomas at home, marking the first win for new head coach Mark Madsen. The Golden Bears overcame a four-point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining with a 15-6 close out run to notch their first win of the year. The Golden Bears shot 7 of 15 from three and 49 percent from the floor, while recording six steals. 
 
Key returner junior guard Jalen Celestine led the Bears with 21 points in his first game back from injury. He shot seven of ten from the floor and three of four from beyond the arc on Monday night. Center Fardaws Aimaq recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night, shooting six of 10 from the floor.
 
The Tigers last met California late in December of 2021, where the Golden Bears got the win in Berkeley. They meet on Friday night for just the 33rd time in program history, dating back to the inaugural 1910-11 season for the Tigers. 
 
The game can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network. Zack Bayrouty will broadcast the game on Fox Sports 1280 AM in Stockton and on the iHeart Radio app. 
 
Follow along on Pacific's men's basketball's social media accounts on both @PacificMensBB on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).