Dec. 14, 2010

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Stockton, Calif. - The Pacific men's basketball team held off Santa Clara, taking a 69-59 home victory at the Spanos Center on Tuesday, Dec. 14. The Tigers are now 6-4 on the season, while the Broncos fall to 5-5.

Great, yet physical, defense from both sides of the court defined the first half for the Tigers and Broncos. Stellar rebounding and good defensive efforts by Pacific limited Santa Clara to only 13 points midway through the first half. The Tigers entered the evening second in the nation in fouls against, but Pacific gave up seven points from the free throw line in the first half. With 8:37 to go in the first, a shot-clock beating jumper by senior guard Demetrece Young (Oklahoma City, Okla.) tied the game at 13-13. Leading 21-20 with 5:20 to play, the Tigers scored six straight on a pair of layups by senior Sam Willard (Pierre, S.D.) and a layup by sophomore Allen Huddleston (Merced, Calif.) to take a 27-20 lead. The Broncos then scored eight straight, including five by Kevin Foster, as Santa Clara took a 28-27 lead with 2:43 to go. Pacific,s defense then picked it up, forcing two turnovers and a missed shot by the Broncos the rest of the half. Meanwhile, the offense outscored the Broncos 8-0, getting five points from junior Chuck Coley (West Palm Beach, Fla.) to lead 35-28 at the break.

If there wasn't already excitement in the air, Huddleston kept the enthusiasm alive with a 10 point personal run in the first six minutes of the second half. The offensive outburst put Pacific ahead 45-32 with 14:38 remaining. A three-pointer from senior Pat Eveland (San Diego, Calif.) and a four-point play by Young put the Tigers ahead 52-37 with 11:48 to go. After a basket by Santa Clara's Evan Roquemore, the Tigers used another 8-0 run featuring four points from senior Terrell Smith (Federal Way, Wash.) to push the lead to 21 (60-39) with 7:44 left in the game. A dunk moments later by Willard gave the Tigers a 63-41 advantage, but the Broncos weren't done. They scored 10 straight over the next three minutes to cut the Tigers lead to 12 (63-51). The Tigers finally answered with another jumper from Young, to stem the run and finished off the victory.

Willard posted his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the game. Young led the Tigers in scoring for the second straight game, scoring 20. Huddleston was the only other Tiger to end the game with double-digits in points, tallying a career second-best 16 points. Pacific shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 10 of 20 from three-point range, while Santa Clara shot 43.8 percent and made just six of 18 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, December 18 at New Mexico State. Game time is at 6:00 pm (PT) in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Listen online at www.pacifictigers.com.