STOCKTON, Calif. – Trailing by 21 mid-way through the second half, the Pacific men's basketball program turned on the jets late to cut it to five points with under a minute left, but Portland was able to hang on for an 81-73 decision Saturday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Pacific (9-22, 4-13 WCC) started knocking down shots over the last nine minutes and was 14-of-27 (.519) from the field in the second half. It included a 5-of-10 mark from long range.
 
The offense was led by Elijah Fisher who registered 23 points and six rebounds. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line and helped the Tigers shoot 15-of-16 (.938) from the charity stripe as a team.
 
A double-double came from senior Elias Ralph with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He also swatted away three blocks, which matched his season-high. Ralph aided the Tigers holding a 35-27 rebounding edge over the Pilots (11-18, 6-10 WCC).
 
Fisher and Ralph played 40 minutes apiece.
 
Pacific outscored Portland 26-0 off the bench. Senior Petar Krivokapic notched 11 points, while sophomore Kris Keinys tallied nine points and five rebounds. Junior Seth Jones drained a pair of threes late.
 
The Pilots were paced by Chris Austin who ended with 24 points, seven rebounds and four steals. He scored 20 points in the first half.
 
The Tigers trailed 19-11 early when junior Jefferson Koulibaly drilled a three-pointer to begin a 10-2 run. Buckets by Fisher and Keinys tied it 21-21 at the 9:10 mark.
 
After a jumper by Fisher kept it even 23-23 with eight minutes left, the Pilots ended the half strong and took 40-29 lead into the break.

The Pilots kept it going in the first part of the second half and build a 66-45 advantage with 9:23 to go.
 
Pacific responded with a 7-0 run, which got started with a shot in the paint by Fisher. A pair of free throws by Fisher trimmed it to 72-60 with 4:03 left.
 
The Tigers got it into single-figures at 72-63 after a three by Jones at the 2:49 mark. Pacific kept fighting and made it a 76-71 game with 38 seconds left after an old-fashion three-point play by Fisher.
 
After a missed front-end of a one-and-one by Portland, the Tigers had a chance to get even closer but turned the ball over and were forced to further foul.
 
The Tigers will play their regular season finale at home next Saturday when they host Santa Clara at 5 p.m. on Senior Day & First Responders Day.
 
NOTES
- Pacific is now 809-461 all-time at home and 346-228 in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
- Pacific moved to 29-18 all-time against the PIlots and 19-6 at home.
 
- With three assists in the game, junior Lamar Washington is up to 177 this year. He's one away from tying the school's single-season record of 178 set by Leonard Armato in 1973-74.
 
- Pacific's .938 free throw percentage was its second-highest this season, only behind a 9-for-9 game at Illinois State on Dec. 7.
 
- Ralph submitted his ninth double-double of the season and 20th of his career. It was the second time this season he logged 40 minutes.
 
- Fisher entered the game ranked top-15 in the country in free throw attempts and 19th in free throws made, and was 7-of-7 in the game. It was the ninth time this year he scored 20 points or more. Fisher played 40 minutes for the fifth time this season.
 
- Krivokapic turned in his 34th career double-figure scoring game and 12th this year. It was the third time in the last four games that he drilled at least a trio of threes in a game. Krivokapic will be honored on Senior Day before Pacific's next game against Santa Clara.
 
- The Tigers have already surpassed their season win total by three games and conference win total by four games from last year.
 
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