NORMAL, Ill. – The Pacific men's basketball program leaped out to a 20-7 lead midway through the first half, but Illinois State ended on top 72-61 on Saturday at CEFCU Arena.
 
The Tigers (5-6) were forced to withstand first half foul trouble as their two leading scorers, senior Elias Ralph and sophomore Elijah Fisher, each had two fouls with 14 minutes left. Pacific led by eight when the duo came out, but trailed by four at the intermission.
 
Illinois State (5-4) didn't lead until 2:58 left in the first half. The Redbirds caught fire from three-point range and went 10-of-25 (.400) for the game.
 
A career night came from sophomore Jazz Gardner who netted a career-best 15 points. He was 6-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from the free throw line and hit his first three-pointer of the season.
 
A double-double came from Ralph with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Lamar Washington registered 14 points and seven rebounds, while Fisher ended with 12 points.
 
Gardner opened the game with his first three of the season, and the Tigers went up 9-3 after a jumper by senior Petar Krivokapic. Pacific extended it to 15-5 at the 11:41 mark after a pair of free throws by Gardner.
 
The Tigers pushed it up to 18-7 on a three by Krivokapic, and took their biggest lead 20-7 after a jumper by Gardner with 10:26 left.
 
Illinois State came back with an 11-0 run to cut it to 20-18 with 6:25 to go. The Redbirds took their first lead of the game 27-25 with 2:58 remaining on a three-pointer and carried a 33-29 edge at the break.
 
A pair of free throws by Ralph kept the Tigers down 39-35 with 17:27 left. Though, Illinois State scored the next eight points to lead 47-35 at the 13:11 mark.
 
The Redbirds led by as many as 17 in the second half, but Pacific kept fighting and got it down to 65-58 after a three by Ralph with 3:37 remaining.
 
Pacific will conclude a three-game road swing next Saturday when it travels to UNLV for a 7:30 p.m. game. The next home game is Wednesday, Dec. 18 when the Tigers host Portland State at 7 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
NOTES
- Pacific and Illinois State met for the first time since Jan. 4, 1998. The two teams have played eight times with the home team winning each encounter. It was Pacific's fifth game at Illinois State.
 
- The Tigers played their first game in the state of Illinois since Nov. 14, 2014 when they beat Western Illinois 73-71 in overtime.
 
- Pacific was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.

- Gardner surpassed his previous career-high of 13 points, set twice. His six made field goals also matched a career-best. It was his third career double-figure scoring game and second this season.
 
- Ralph tallied his fifth double-double of the season and 16th of his career. He continued his streak of scoring in double-figures in every game this year.
 
- Fisher has scored in double-digits in 10 of 11 games this season and it was his 17th 10-plus performance of his career.
 
- Washington drained his sixth double-figure scoring game of the year. His seven rebounds matched a career-high.
 

Pacific 13, Illinois State 5, 11:41 1H

J. Gardner with an early 5 pts#PacificProud pic.twitter.com/XYXA8oCd5f

— Pacific Men's Basketball (@PacificMensBB) December 8, 2024

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