STOCKTON, Calif. – The Pacific men's basketball team takes on Pepperdine in the first round of the 2023 University Credit Union WCC Basketball Tournament at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 2, at the Orleans Arena.
The Tigers (14-17, 7-9) capped off the regular season with a win, an 81-77 triumph over Portland last Saturday at the Alex G. Spanos Center. With the win, Pacific finished in a three-way tie with San Francisco and BYU for fifth place and, due to tiebreaker rulings, earned the seventh seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
In the win over the Pilots, the Tigers had six players score in double figures. Cam Denson and Luke Avdalovic paced the Tigers offensively, scoring 12 points. Denson shot an efficient 83.3 percent from the floor, connecting on five of his six attempts in 24 minutes off the bench. Denson also added a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks throughout the game.
Avdalovic, playing in his final game at the Alex G. Spanos Center, was four of 10 from the floor and knocked down two three-point baskets.
Jordan Ivy-Curry (11 points), Tyler Beard (11 points), Greg Outlaw (11 points), and Moe Odum (10 points) rounded out the team's offensive production.
After winning back-to-back wins over Portland and BYU, the Waves (9-21, 2-14) closed the regular season with four straight losses. Falling to LMU, 75-67, in the regular season finale, the Waves earned the 10th seed in the upcoming conference tournament for the second straight season.
Maxwell Lewis led the team offensively through 30 games this season, averaging 17.1 points per game. Lewis reached the 20-point threshold in 13, pouring in a season-high 30 against Northern Arizona and Pacific.
Defensively, Carson Basham leads the team and ranks second in the conference in blocks with 34. Jevon Porter leads the team in rebounds per game at 7.3 and total rebounds with 219.
Facing off the 78th time in program history, the Tigers have a slight edge over the Waves, winning 43 games since the first-ever meeting during the 1947-48 season.
The Tigers defeated the Waves twice during the regular season, earning a narrow 80-75 come-from-behind victory on the road on January 7, and finished the season sweep with a dominating 81-73 win at the Alex G. Spanos Center on February 2.
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.
