LAS VEGAS – The sixth-seeded Pacific men's basketball program hung tough for most of the way, but third-seeded Santa Clara ended on top 76-68 in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Championship on Sunday at Orleans Arena.
 
Pacific (18-15), which was coming off a 61-58 victory over Seattle in the third round, garnered 25 points from senior Elias Ralph. The All-Conference First-Team selection was 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-9 from three.
 
Though, the Tigers conceded a season-high 15 threes as Santa Clara (25-7) fired 36 attempts from long range and shot it at a .417 clip. Pacific outscored the Broncos 28-22 in the paint and 13-5 in transition but Santa Clara relied on its three-point barrage.
 
Senior Jaden Clayton registered 12 points and was one assist away from a double-double with nine. For the tournament, Clayton recorded 15 assists with just one turnover.
 
Senior TJ Wainwright, an All-Conference Honorable Mention, turned in nine points. Senior Justin Rochelin tallied seven points and eight rebounds.
 
Pacific trailed 10-7 in the first half after a score by freshman Jaion Pitt. Though, the Broncos took a double-digit 24-14 lead with 11:36 remaining.
 
Still down 10, Ralph drilled a three and a jumper on back-to-back possession to trim it to 43-38 with under a minute left. However, Santa Clara scored the last bucket of the half to carry a 45-38 edge into the break.
 
Pacific came out with a spark early in the second and cut it to 50-48 after a three by Clayton at the 17:05 mark. Though, the Broncos answered with four consecutive threes as the Tigers called timeout trailing 62-48 with 14:03 to go.
 
Pacific was still behind 68-58 after a jumper by Ralph with 8:16 remaining. A dunk by Rochelin on the fast break cut it to single-figures 74-65 with 4:38 left.
 
The closest the Tigers came was 74-66 after a free throw by Clayton with 2:43 to go.
 
Pacific will now wait and see whether its season continues in a postseason tournament.
 

E. Ralph up to 25 pts (10-15 FG, 5-7 3FG).

??: https://t.co/agVnAn3c6B #PacificProud pic.twitter.com/slVy1hEgqi

— Pacific Men's Basketball (@PacificMensBB) March 9, 2026

NOTES
- Pacific reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019-20 and for just the second time since rejoining the league in 2013-14.
 
- The Tigers moved to 3-1 on the year in neutral court games.
 
- Ralph is up to 1,041 points in two seasons at Pacific, becoming the first two-year player in school history to score 1,000 points. He submitted his 30th career 20-plus scoring performance, 18th at Pacific and 11th this year. Ralph is shooting a team-best .409 from three-point range on the season.
 
- Clayton holds the school record for assists in a season with 210. He entered the game ranked top-20 in the country with 6.3 per outing and will improve upon his standing. Clayton notched his 42nd career double-figure scoring game and 11th this year. He's up to 1,017 points in four Division I seasons.
 
- Pacific doubled both its conference and overall win totals from last year. The Tigers surpassed their overall win total by nine games and conference win total by four 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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