MANOA, Hawaii – A business trip to The Aloha State is on tap for the Pacific men's basketball program when it opens the Outrigger Rainbow Classic at 6:30 p.m. (PT) Friday against San Jose State on a neutral court at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The round robin tournament is hosted by the University of Hawaii. The Tigers (1-0) will face Life Pacific (1-0) at 4:30 p.m. (PT) Sunday and the Rainbow Warriors (0-0) at 9 p.m. (PT) Monday.
 
Pacific opened the season with a 92-65 win over Jessup in front of 3,772 fans, the largest crowd for a home opener since Nov. 18, 2005 when it drew a crowd of 4,371 against Sonoma State. It was the first of the Dave Smart era as he begins his first season as the head coach.
 
Junior Lamar Washington became the first Tiger 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.
 
Senior Elias Ralph stood out against Jessup with a career-high 30 points. He was 13-of-15 from the floor and also recorded five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. His previous career-high was 25 points last season when he played at the University of Victoria.
 
Ralph played for assistant coach Craig Beaucamp last year at the University of Victoria in Canada. Ralph, a 6-7 forward, averaged 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shot .405 (60-148) from three-point range.
 
The Tigers will first go up against an SJSU (0-1) squad that dropped a tight 59-55 decision to Western Illinois on opening day. Like the Tigers, the Spartans have a lot of new faces which includes eight transfers. Will McClendon, who transferred from UCLA, and Josh Uduje, who transferred from Utah State, scored 13 points apiece against WIU.
 
Life Pacific, located in San Dimas, California, beat Bethesda University 87-71 to start the season. The Warriors are a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).
 
Hawaii has not played a regular season game yet and opens the year Friday against Life Pacific. The Rainbow Warriors were 20-14 overall and 11-9 in the Big West last year. Hawaii returns one starter but is loaded with transfers including Marcus Greene who averaged 15.1 points per game last year and was Houston Christian's leading scorer.
 
Pacific's games against San Jose State and Life Pacific will not be televised, but the game against Hawaii will be on ESPN+. All three games can be heard live on Fox Sports AM 1280 with Zack Bayrouty on the calls.
 
NOTES
- The Tigers are 83-74 all-time against San Jose State as the two programs met as far back as the 1909-10 season. The Tigers won the last meeting 59-58 at home on Dec. 17, 2022.
 
- Pacific and Life Pacific have never met before.
 
- The Tigers are looking for their first road win against Hawaii since Dec. 1, 1987 as the Rainbow Warriors have won the last four meetings at home. It will be the 11th meeting all-time between the two squads and the seventh at Hawaii.
 
- Widely regarded as the most successful Canadian college basketball coach of all time, Smart arrived at Pacific after serving as Assistant Coach at Texas Tech last season. He previously amassed 656 victories as the head coach at Carleton University over 18 seasons.
 
- The roster features 14 newcomers and one returner. Pacific is one of nine teams in the nation with at least 14 newcomers including Cal, Coastal Carolina, DePaul, Fresno State, IU Indy, Louisville, Missouri State and UT Martin.
 
- Of the 14 newcomers, eight are international student-athletes including four from Canada. Seven of the newcomers are Division I transfers coming from SMU, Texas Tech, FIU, Minnesota, Nevada, Boise State and DePaul.
 
- One of the Canadians is Elijah Fisher who spent last season at DePaul. Fisher was second on the team in scoring with 10.2 points per game and shot .520 from the field on 119-of-229 attempts.
 
- The Tigers relaunched the Casaba Club prior to the season, a revitalized basketball booster club. The club provides funding for teams to travel internationally for competition every four years, as well as charter travel for away games, and improves the teams' scheduling by providing money for travel and entry fees into high-quality tournaments.
 
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the PacificTigers.com tickets tab, or by calling the Box Office at 209-946-2474.  Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
 
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