STOCKTON, Calif. – Pacific men's basketball ended the regular season with an 81-77 win over Portland in the final home game this season in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
The Tigers benefited from balanced scoring with six players in double figures, led by senior
Luke Avdalovic and sophomore
Cam Denson with 12 points each. Senior
Greg Outlaw, sophomore
Jordan Ivy-Curry and sophomore
Tyler Beard each had 11 points while freshman
Moe Odum added 10.
It was the final home game for Avdalovic, who leads the WCC in three-point accuracy. "I'm happy we got a win for senior Luke tonight," said Head Coach
Leonard Perry. "To get seven wins in this league for him as a senior is a big deal."
It was a back-and-forth contest between the two teams battling for seeding in the WCC Tournament with 12 lead changes and nine ties. Portland took the lead for the last time with a made free throw with 1:32 to play, leading 75-74. Ivy-Curry hit four of four from the line and added a layup over the final 79 seconds of the game to help the Tigers to the win. Beard hit a three-pointer with one second to play to account for the 81-77 final.
"You have to have respect the fact that the guy wants the ball in those situations," said Perry after the game of his guard, Ivy-Curry. "He's confident he can make them all." Ivy-Curry now has been in double figures in seven of the last eight games, averaging 12.5 points in the run.
The Pacific bench outscored Portland's, 45-16. The 12 points scored by Denson was the most since he had back-to-back 16-point efforts on November 15 and 22 against Cal State Fullerton and Mount St. Mary's. He led the team with seven rebounds.
Pacific (14-17, 7-9) awaits the results of the rest of the WCC on Saturday evening to learn its first pairing in the WCC Tournament. The Tigers will be the sixth seed if San Francisco wins at BYU. Pacific will be the seventh seed if the Cougars beat the Dons. The seventh seed will play at
Portland (13-18, 5-11) will play on Thursday against San Diego in the matchup of the eight and nine seeds.
