SPOKANE, Wash. – Keeping it at a one possession game with under five minutes left, the Pacific men's basketball program put up a strong fight at No. 11 Gonzaga, but the Bulldogs were able to survive 71-62 Saturday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
 
Pacific (17-13, 8-9 WCC) led as late as the 11:51 mark and trailed just 59-56 with five minutes left before the Bulldogs (27-2, 15-1 WCC) made enough plays down the stretch to stay ahead. The closely contested match featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
 
The Tigers outrebounded Gonzaga 36-32 and outscored the Bulldogs 34-20 in the paint. Gonzaga entered the game ranked top-five in the nation in field goal percentage (.516) and were limited to a .429 mark including 5-of-19 (.263) from three.
 
Though, Gonzaga posted a +11 turnover margin and put up seven more field goals and 13 more free throw attempts.
 
Senior Justin Rochelin turned in a double-double of 12 points and a career-high 14 points. He played all 40 minutes.
 
Rochelin was one of three Tigers to score in double-figures. Senior Elias Ralph recorded 12 points and six rebounds, while senior TJ Wainwright tallied 10 points and buried a pair of threes.
 
Senior KC Ibekwe came off the bench to register eight points. Senior Jaden Clayton submitted seven points, six rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
 
The Tigers led 12-6 at the 14:24 mark of the first half after a second-chance bucket by Rochelin. Pacific remained ahead 16-12 after a tip-in by Ibekwe at the 10:21 mark.
 
Gonzaga came back to take a 22-18 edge with 6:37 left, but scores by Rochelin and Ralph evened it 22-22. A lay-in by Ibekwe put the Tigers back in front 29-26 with 1:41 to go, but the Bulldogs scored the last three points of the half to knot it up at 29-29.
 
After Gonzaga scored the first bucket of the second half, Wainwright answered with back-to-back threes to put Pacific ahead 35-31 with 18:04 left. A pair of free throws by Wainwright kept the Tigers on top 37-36 with 15:46 to go.
 
Pacific's final, 45-43, lead came with 11:51 remaining after a fast break dunk by Wainwright. The game was tied 47-47 at the midway point of the second half after a field goal by junior Kajus Kublickas.
 
Gonzaga was able to create slight separation in the last five minutes and went up 68-59 at the 2:16 mark. An old-fashion three-point play by Rochelin trimmed it to 68-62 with 1:05 remaining.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Graham Ike's 20 points on 8-of-21 shooting.
 
Pacific will conclude the regular season at home against San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
NOTES
- It was Pacific's closest road game against the Bulldogs and last single-figure loss at Gonzaga since Nov. 29, 1975 when the Bulldogs ended on top 51-48.
 
- The Tigers have outrebounded 15 of 17 opponents in conference.
 
- Pacific entered the game ranked top-40 in the country in three-point percentage (.369) and finished 5-of-13 (.385).
 
- Ralph is up to 982 points in two seasons at Pacific. It was 114th career double-figure scoring game, 54th at Pacific and 26th this year.
 
- Rochelin notched his fourth double-double of the season. His 14 rebounds surpassed his previous career-high of 13 in a home win this year against San Diego. It was Rochelin's 22nd career double-digit scoring performance and 13th this season.
 
- Wainwright came into the game shooting .399 from long range and .928 from the charity stripe. He was 2-of-4 from three and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. It was his 60th career double-figure scoring game, 24th this season and ninth in a row.
 
- Clayton entered the game ranked 21st in the nation and second in the WCC in assists (6.1 apg) and distributed eight. He's up to 992 career points in four Division I seasons.
 
- Pacific has doubled its conference win total from last year and surpassed its overall win total by eight games. 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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