SAN DIEGO – The Pacific men's basketball program conceded a late spurt to San Diego and fell 75-65 Monday in West Coast Conference play at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
After trailing the entire first half, Pacific (5-11, 0-2 WCC) came back to take a five-point lead in the second. Though, the Toreros (4-10, 1-0 WCC) used a decisive 13-0 run down the stretch to end on top.
 
For the second consecutive game, junior Elijah Fisher was 7-of-10 from the field. He registered his first career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
 
Nearing a double-double was senior Elias Ralph with 17 points and nine rebounds. Scoring 10 points apiece was senior Petar Krivokapic and junior Jefferson Koulibaly.
 
The Tigers outrebounded the Toreros 37-33. San Diego was guided by Steven Jamerson II's 21 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Pacific got off to a slow start and trailed 24-10 near the midway point of the first half. Buckets by junior Lamar Washington and Ralph trimmed it to 24-17 at the 9:05 mark.
 
A dunk by Ralph made it a 33-27 game, and a half court buzzer beater by freshman Carter Benton trimmed the deficit to 35-31 at the half.
 
The Tigers came out firing in the second and quickly tied it 37-37 after a three by Koulibaly with 18:04 left. Pacific took its first lead of the game 41-39 on a second chance bucket by Ralph with 14:24 to go.
 
The Tigers posted their largest advantage of the game 44-39 on an old-fashion three-point play by Fisher with 13:49 remaining. Pacific was still in front 47-43 after a pair of free throws by Fisher with 11:47 remaining.
 
San Diego responded with an 8-0 run to regain a 51-47 edge with 10:03 left. After a lay-up by Fisher, the Toreros created separation with a 13-0 spurt to go up 64-49 at the 5:26 mark.
 
The Tigers will play their first West Coast Conference home game Thursday when they host San Francisco at 7 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 

Carter Benton from DEEP#WCChoops | @PacificMensBB pic.twitter.com/4vdZvwGySM

— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) December 31, 2024

NOTES
- Pacific is now 16-13 all-time against the Toreros.
 
- The Tigers entered the game ranked third in the WCC in offensive rebounding with 11.3 per game and were right on par with 11. Ralph secured five offensive boards, while Fisher pulled down four.
 
- Fisher notched his fifth 20-plus scoring performance of the year and 15th double-digit outing. He surpassed his previous career-high of nine rebounds set twice. Fisher entered the game ranked seventh in the country and first in the WCC in free throw attempts and was 6-of-7 from the line.
 
- Ralph continued his streak of scoring in double-figures in every game this season. He was 7-of-11 from the field.
 
- Koulibaly hit a pair of threes and submitted his sixth double-digit scoring outing of the year.
 
- Krivokapic reached double-figures for the fifth time this season and 27th time in his career. He drilled a pair of long range shots and grabbed five rebounds.
 
- The Tigers and Toreros play in a grueling West Coast Conference that is the seventh ranked conference in the country in the KenPom, the highest ranking the WCC has held as a conference since the inception of the KenPom in 1997. The WCC garners six teams in the top 76 in KenPom for the first time since the inception of the metric.
 
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