Impressive Second Half Leads Boxers Past Wolves
Box Score
FOREST GROVE – A close first half yielded way to a strong second half performance on both ends of the floor by Pacific Saturday night as the Boxers ran away with an 80-55 victory over Walla Walla in men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
After building a slim 33-27 lead at half, the Boxers surged to outscore the Wolves 47-28 in the final 20 minutes. Pacific (6-3) shot 51.9 percent from the field, including 4 of 9 from three-point range, and 15 of 16 from the free throw line in the second half. Pacific finished the night shooting 44.3 percent from the field (27-61) and 81.8 percent from the free throw line (18-22) and out-rebounded the Wolves 47-26.
The victory avenged a stunning loss for the Boxers in College Place, Wash., back on Dec. 2, when Walla Walla posted a 69-65 victory.
Danny Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) led Pacific with 19 points on 6 of 15 from the field and four three-pointers to go along with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Daniel Zitani (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) added 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals while
Charles Mosley (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) came off the bench to finish with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Tristan Greenidge was the only player for Walla Walla (2-15) in double figures with 19 points, 12 of which came on three-pointers, and seven rebounds. Miguel Martinez and Ryan Spady each added eight points. Walla Walla finished the game shooting 32.7 percent from the field (18-55) and went 9 of 27 from three-point range.
Outside of a pair of narrow deficits within the first four minutes of the contest, Pacific maintained control throughout the contest, but wouldn't shake the Wolves until the second half. A three-pointer by
Coby Proctor (So., Sublimity, Ore.) took back the lead and sparked a 14-2 run that gave the Boxers their first double-digit lead of the night, 20-9, at the 11:07 mark.
Pacific used a free throw from Mosley with 6:21 left to build their biggest lead of the first half at 29-16, but Walla Walla closed the period with an 11-2 run that made things much closer. A four-point play Greenidge brought the Wolves within four with 43 seconds left, but a lay-up by Zitani on the Boxers' next possession allowed the Boxers their 33-27 halftime lead.
Walla Walla did what they could to keep the run alive early in the second half, cutting the Pacific lead to three points on Greenidge's three-point play three minutes into the stanza. Brakebush took all three points back with his trey on the Boxers' next possession, sparking a 17-2 run over the next seven minutes that included an over four-minute scoring drought for the Wolves. Mosley scored eight points in the run, which ended on a Brakebush three-point play that gave the Boxers a 53-35 lead with 9:46 remaining.
Greenidge was the recipient of his second four-point play on the Wolves' next possession to lower the advantage to 14 points, but another three-minute dry spell from the field was all Pacific needed to secure the win. Zitani's lay-in with 8:50 left sparked a 7-2 run that put the Boxers ahead 62-41. Walla Walla never came closer than 18 points the rest of the way, with the Boxers taking their biggest lead of the game, 80-53, on
Connor Hurley's (So., Portland, Ore.) three-pointer with 39 seconds left.
Pacific will turn it's attention to Northwest Conference play next week, opening the league schedule with the teams picked to finish first and second. The Boxers host defending champion and No. 11 ranked Whitworth on Friday night at 8 p.m., followed by Whitman on Saturday at 6 p.m. Both games will be audio and video streamed live at goboxers.com.
