STOCKTON, Calif. – A second half rally by the Pacific men's basketball program fell short in a 60-57 final against Northern Arizona on Thursday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Pacific (3-2) trimmed a 15-point deficit to NAU (3-1) to just three points but couldn't get enough timely baskets down the stretch to get over the hump. It was a strong defensive effort by the Tigers who limited the Lumberjacks to a .354 shooting mark including 5-of-30 (.167) from three.
 
Senior Elias Ralph paced the Tigers with game-highs of 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. It was his second double-double of the season and his second 20-plus scoring outing.
 
Ralph is one of two Pacific student-athletes to score in double-figures in every game this year along with sophomore Elijah Fisher, who ended with 13 points and eight rebounds. Junior Jefferson Koulibaly joined the duo in double-digits with 10 points.
 
NAU was guided by Trenton McLaughlin who ended with 22 points.
 
The Tigers were playing catch-up for nearly the entire game. Ralph opened the scoring with a three, but the Lumberjacks scored the next nine points to lead 9-3. NAU's biggest lead of the half was 21-11 at the 10:32 mark.
 
Pacific cut it to 26-22 after a three by senior Petar Krivokapic with 2:42 to go. The Lumberjacks carried a 30-24 edge at the intermission.
 
NAU opened the second half on an 8-0 spurt to lead 39-24. A dunk by Ralph got it back down to single digits, 49-41, with 11:37 remaining. The Tigers kept chipping away and made it a 52-46 game with 7:09 left after a dunk by sophomore Kris Keinys.
 
The Tigers trailed 55-50 and had the ball with 1:35 left but just couldn't get a bucket to go down when it needed it most. A three in the closing seconds by Fisher made it a one possession game.
 
Pacific will begin a two-game road trip Monday when it travels to No. 18 Arkansas for a 5 p.m. (PT) tip. The next home game is Wednesday, Nov. 27 when it hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 7 p.m. at the Spanos Center.
 
NOTES
- Pacific is now 805-453 all-time at home and 342-220 in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
- The Tigers entered the game leading the West Coast Conference in three-point percentage defense (.185) and held the Lumberjacks to a .167 clip. Pacific has held the opposition to under 30 percent from long distance in every game this year.
 
- Pacific matched its season-high with five blocks. Freshman Solomon Ominu swatted a pair.
 
- Ralph netted his 65th career double-figure scoring game and 13th career double-digit rebounding outing. He shot 7-of-14 (.500) from the field and his five assists were a career-high.
 
- Fished notched his 21st career double-figure scoring game. His eight rebounds were a season-high and one shy of his career-high set last season at DePaul. Fisher was 5-of-10 (.500) from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
 
- Koulibaly submitted his second double-figure scoring performance of the season and third of his career. He was 4-of-7 (.571) from the floor and drilled a pair of threes.
 
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