The men's basketball team faced off against future WCC rivals Santa Clara on Dec. 15, 2012. The game was close, with both teams repeatedly trading lead scores.
Pacific Drops Tight One To Santa Clara
The Tiger men's basketball team dropped a 75-71 decision to Santa Clara on Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Tigers fell to 5-5, while Santa Clara improved to 8-2.
An early hot start by both teams from the field gave Santa Clara a 16-12 lead with 14:49 left in the half. The teams combined to hit 12 of the first 18 shots from the field in just over the first five minutes. Junior Ross Rivera hit a pair of three-pointers in the next three and a half minutes as the Tigers used an 8-0 run to take a 20-18 lead with 11:21 to go. Santa Clara then went on a 7-0 run to make it 25-20, including a stretch of over seven minutes where they held Pacific scoreless. The Tigers held Santa Clara to just two points over the final 8:28, outscoring the Broncos 10-2 to take a 30-27 halftime lead. Senior Markus Duran hit a pair of three-pointers in the stretch to give the Tigers a spark off the bench.
A jumper by senior Travis Fulton to open the second half gave the Tigers their largest lead of the game (32-27). Pacific held a 45-40 lead with 13:12 to play, but the Broncos took a 50-47 lead with a 10-2 run that featured five points from Kevin Foster. The Tigers took a 63-60 lead after an 8-2 run that featured four points from senior Lorenzo McCloud. Foster then hit a three-pointer to tie and take the lead at 66-63. Junior Sama Taku hit a three-pointer with 1:20 to play, but Foster hit another trey and had a breakaway layup after a steal to give the Bronocs a 71-66 lead with :27 seconds to play. It marked a stretch of 13 straight points by Foster. McCloud made it a three point game (71-68) with a layup at the :17 second mark. The Broncos' Marc Trasolini and Evan Roquemore each hit a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Taku led the Tigers with a career-high 23 points and seven rebounds. McCloud was the only other Tiger to score in double figures.
Pacific shot 43.1% (22-51) from the field, but 50.0% (9-18) from three-point range. The Broncos shot just 36.9% (24-65) from the field, but had 16 offensive rebounds. The Tigers outscored the Broncos 23-6 in points off the bench.
Pacific is next in action with a road game at Saint Mary's on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7:00 p.m.