STOCKTON, Calif. – In front of a lively home crowd, the Pacific men's basketball program topped Jessup 92-65 in the 2024-25 season opener Monday evening at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Junior Lamar Washington became the first Tiger (1-0) in school history to record 15 assists in a game. The previous record was 14 set by Dell Demps on Jan. 7, 1991 against UC Irvine. Washington helped the Tigers dish out 31 assists as a team, the most since Dec. 29, 1994 when they finished with 33 against Cleveland State.
 
The Tigers outscored the Warriors (0-1) by a 56-24 margin in the paint as Pacific won its first game with Dave Smart at the helm. The Tigers shot .585 from the floor and limited Jessup to a .323 mark.
 
Shining in his debut as a Tiger was senior Elias Ralph who stood out with a career-high 30 points. He was 13-of-15 from the floor and also recorded five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 
Ralph was one of 11 newcomers to take the floor for the first time for Pacific. It included sophomore Elijah Fisher who tallied 15 points and sophomore Jazz Gardner who totaled eight points and nine rebounds.
 
The Tigers drilled 10 three-pointers and shot .435 from long range. Juniors Jefferson Koulibaly and Seth Jones each hit a trio of long range shots, while senior Petar Krivokapic drained a pair.
 
Pacific limited a fast-paced Jessup team to 65 points after the Warriors averaged 80 points per game last year. Jessup was guided by Ja'Maris Blackmon's 22 points.
 
Pacific took control of the game mid-way through the first half as a lay-up by Ralph put them up 27-19 at the 9:49 mark. The Tigers upped it to 36-22 after a three by Koulibaly with 4:39 left. Pacific carried a 43-26 lead at the break after a lay-in by senior Burke Smith.
 
After Jessup cut it to 54-41 early in the second, the Tigers responded with a 12-0 run as a bucket by Ralph made it a 66-41 game with 11:05 remaining. A basket by Fisher kept Pacific ahead 72-46 with 9:08 to go. The largest lead of the night, 92-64, came on a lay-up by Ralph with 1:17 left.
 
Up next, the Tigers will head to Hawaii for three games of the Rainbow Classic. Pacific's first game is Friday, 6:30 p.m. (PT) against San Jose State. The next home game is Thursday, Nov. 14 when the team hosts Northern Arizona at 7 p.m.
 
NOTES
- The 3,772 attendance was the largest for a Pacific home opener since Nov. 18, 2005 when it drew a crowd of 4,371 against Sonoma State.
 
- Monday was just the second-ever meeting between Pacific and Jessup. The Tigers won the first 70-61 on Nov. 20, 2010.
 
- The Tigers won their season opener for the first time since 2020-21 when they topped UC Riverside 66-60 at home.
 
- Ralph became the first Tiger to score 30 points in a game since Keylan Boone on Feb. 11, 2023 against San Diego. He topped his previous career-high of 25 points set at the University of Victoria last season. It was Ralph's 61st career double-figure scoring game and 13th 20-plus scoring performance.
 
- Fisher submitted his 17th career double-figure scoring game, which included 16 at DePaul last season.
 
- Prior to tip-off, there was a moment of silence for Myke Scholl, who suddenly passed in July and was entering his first season as an assistant coach. Hired in April, Scholl spent the previous 10 seasons at Long Beach State, including the last six as an associate head coach.
 


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