STOCKTON, Calif. – Taking control early in the game, the Pacific men's basketball program overwhelmed Portland in a 74-51 win Wednesday on Dignity Health Night at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
Pacific (15-8, 6-4 WCC), which won its third consecutive game, improved to 10-0 at home this season including 5-0 in conference.
 
The Tigers led 21-11 with 9:38 left in the first half and their lead never dipped below double-figures the rest of the game. They increased it to 40-21 at the intermission and led by as many as 27 in the second half.
 
Pacific got it done on both ends of the court. It shot .509 from the field and limited Portland (10-13, 3-7 WCC) to a .310 mark including 6-of-23 (.261) from long range. The Tigers ran the floor and outscored the Pilots 12-0 in fast breaks.
 
Pacific continued to assert itself inside where it outscored Portland 38-12 in the paint. The Tigers held a large 37-26 rebounding edge and posted a 17-4 advantage in second chance points.
 
Senior Justin Rochelin shined with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season as he was 7-of-10 from the floor. Senior TJ Wainwright netted 15 points and grabbed three steals.
 
Senior Elias Ralph tallied 14 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Senior Isaac Jack submitted 10 points and was 5-of-6 from the field.
 
Junior Kajus Kublickas came off the bench to dish out eight assists. Senior Jaden Clayton distributed seven assists and grabbed a season-high four steals.
 
The Pilots were led by Joel Foxwell's 13 points as he hit a trio of long range shots.
 
Portland led for less than a minute of the game, holding leads of 1-0 and 3-2. The Tigers used a 9-0 run to go up 19-8 on an alley-oop finish by Rochelin at the 11:34 mark. Pacific extended it to 27-11 on a jumper by freshman Jaion Pitt with 4:55 left.
 
A three by Ralph upped it to 34-15 with 2:44 to go. A field goal by Pitt on the team's final possession of the half kept them in front 40-21 going into the break.
 
The Tigers kept their foot on the petal in the second half as a dunk by Rochelin increased it to 51-29 with 15:04 remaining. The largest lead was 62-35 after Wainwright buried a three with 9:53 to go.
 
Senior Alexis Marmolejos got in on the action with a fast break lay-up to lead 67-43 with 4:31 left. A jumper by Clayton kept them ahead 72-48 at the 2:32 mark.
 
Pacific will hit the road Saturday for a 7 p.m. tip at San Francisco for the first meeting between the two teams this season. The next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. against Santa Clara.
 
NOTES
- The Tigers are now 30-20 all-time against Portland and 20-6 at home.
 
- Pacific is 10-0 at home for the first time since 1997-98 when the team went 13-0 at home in the regular season before falling at home in the NIT to Fresno State. The year prior in 1996-97, the Tigers finished 12-0 at home, which was the last undefeated home season. Pacific is now 819-462 all-time at home and 356-229 in the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
- Pacific's 6-4 conference record is its best through 10 games since 2019-20 when the team got off to an 8-4 start and finished 11-5 in the league. The Tigers are off to their second-best start since rejoining the WCC in 2013-14.
 
- The Tigers have outrebounded all 10 conference opponents this season. They entered the game ranked top-10 in the nation in rebounding margin with a +9.8 clip and outrebounded the Pilots 37-26.
 
- Pacific improved to 10-0 this year when it has more fast break points, 12-1 when leading at half and 10-1 when holding the opposition to under .333 from three-point range.
 
- The Tigers are 11-0 under Dave Smart in two seasons when holding the opposition to under 60 points and 8-0 this year.
 
- Rochelin etched his second-highest scoring total of the year and his second-highest rebounding total. In two games against Portland, he averaged 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per outing. He scored a career-high 20 points in the first meeting.
 
- With a 2-for-4 night from long range, Wainwright is now shooting .453 from distance in conference. He's made at least one three in 22 of 23 games on the season. Wainwright turned in his 53rd career double-digit scoring game and 17th this season.
 
- Ralph submitted his 107th career double-figure scoring game, 47th at Pacific and 19th this year. It was the third time this season that he was perfect from the free throw line with at least six attempts.
 
- Jack registered his 18th career double-digit scoring effort and 11th this year. With a 5-of-6 night, he's up to .700 from the field on the season.
 
- Clayton entered the game ranked 27th in the country in assists with 6.1 per game and dished out seven. His four steals were the most by a Tiger in a single game this year.
 
- Pacific has surpassed its overall win total by six games and its conference win total by two games from last season. It's the second year in a row under head coach Dave Smart that the Tigers have increased their win total from the year prior.
 


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