STOCKTON, Calif. – Using big performances from seniors TJ Wainwright, Isaac Jack and Justin Rochelin, the Pacific men's basketball program erased a 17-point second half deficit to beat San Diego 77-70 on Saturday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
The Tigers (12-7, 3-3 WCC) trailed by 10 at the intermission, 17 with 17:13 remaining and 13 with 9:06 left before the offense got going. Pacific took the lead 63-62 with 3:14 to go after a dunk by Jack, which was a part of a big 18-3 run.
 
The Tigers created further separation from San Diego (7-11, 2-4 WCC) in the final minute. Pacific scored 53 points in the second half after netting just 24 points in the first.
 
With the win, the Tigers improved to 8-0 at home this year.
 
Wainwright and Rochelin tallied their first career double-doubles. Wainwright drained five three-pointers and notched a season-high 25 points with 10 rebounds, while Rochelin registered 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.  
 
Jack was 7-of-10 from the floor and submitted 16 points and seven rebounds. The trio helped the Tigers outrebound the Toreros 50-32.
 
San Diego built its first half lead after Pacific came out cold from the floor - the Tigers shot .242 from the field and .235 (4-17) from three-point range in the first half. Conversely, the Toreros shot .500 from the floor in the first half but were held to a .343 clip in the second.
 
Pacific led 8-5 in the first half with 15:58 left after a three by Wainwright, but the Toreros answered with a 10-0 run to go up 15-8 and led for the next 33 minutes. USD increased it to 25-15 at the 7:08 mark and took a 34-24 edge into the locker rooms.
 
The Toreros made the hole deeper early in the second after opening the half on a 10-3 run to up it to 44-27 with 17:13 remaining.
 
A three-pointer by senior Elias Ralph sparked a 10-0 run as Pacific trimmed it to 47-37 with 15:09 left.

The Tigers were behind 62-55 when Jack scored eight consecutive points to put the Tigers ahead 63-62 at the 3:14 mark. A big three-pointer by Wainwright extended it to 68-64 with 2:03 remaining.
 
Pacific made a series of stops in the closing minutes, and a pair of free throws by senior Jaden Clayton extended it to 74-66 with 49 seconds left. Freshman Jaion Pitt made a free throw to make it 77-68 with 10 seconds remaining.
 
Ty-Laur Johnson led USD with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Adrian McIntyre ended with 11 points and seven rebounds.
 
Pacific will be back on the road for its next two games beginning with a 7 p.m. Wednesday match-up at Santa Clara. The next home game is Saturday, Jan. 24 against WCC newcomer Seattle at 4 p.m.
 
NOTES
- The Tigers improved to 18-15 all-time against San Diego and 11-4 at home. Pacific avenged a 66-54 road defeat to the Toreros in the first meeting this year. Wainwright led the team in scoring in both meetings this season after scoring 15 in the road match-up.
 
- Pacific is now 817-462 all-time at home and 354-229 in the Spanos Center.
 
- The Tigers have outrebounded all six conference opponents this season. They entered the game ranked 21st in the nation in rebounding margin with a +9.4 clip and held a 50-32 edge over USD.
 
- Pacific entered the game ranked 24th in the country in free throw percentage with a .772 clip and was 23-of-28 (.821) in the game.
 
- The Tigers are now 8-0 this year when they have more fast break points than the opposition.
 
- Pacific grabbed a season-high 10 steals. Clayton and Pitt stole three apiece.
 
- Wainwright surpassed his previous career-high of 23 points against Nicholls on Dec. 21. His career-high is 31 points last season against CSU Fullerton as a member of Long Beach State. Wainwright's 10 rebounds topped his previous career-high of eight, set twice. It was the fifth time in his career and second time this season that he made at least five three-pointers in a game.
 
- Rochelin turned in his second consecutive big performance as he was coming off a career-high 20 points at Portland. His 13 rebounds surpassed his previous career-high of eight, set six times. Rochelin was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
 
- Jack etched his 15th career double-figure scoring game and eighth this year. He was coming off an 18-point night at Portland.
 
- Clayton entered the game ranked 30th in the country in assists with 5.9 per outing and dished out seven. He finished with eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals.
 
- Pacific has already surpassed its overall win total by three games from last season when it finished 9-24. It's the second year in a row under head coach Dave Smart that the Tigers have increased their win total as he inherited a 6-26 (0-16 WCC) squad from 2023-24.
 


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