Boxers Hold Off Late Rally To Get By Wildcats

Boxers Hold Off Late Rally To Get By Wildcats

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Box Score

McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Pacific needed every bit of a 16-point cushion built early in the second half Saturday night as the Boxers fended off a Linfield rally to beat the Wildcats 64-56 in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at Ted Wilson Gymnasium.
 
After outscoring the Wildcats 29-15 over the final 12 minutes of the first half, Pacific opened the second period with a 16-point advantage.  The Wildcats came back to within three points with 1:13 left, but the Boxers made 6 of 8 free throws over the final minute as Linfield's game-tying shots failed to go into the net.
 
Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) led Pacific with 16 points while Mitch Wettig (Jr., Bend, Ore.) notched his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.  They led a Pacific offense that shot 37.3 percent from the field (19-51) and 19 od 24 from the free throw line.
 
Chris Dirks led the Linfield charge with 12 points and six rebounds while Tanner Brill and Mason Rodby each scored 11.  The Wildcats shot 41.7 percent from the field (20-48) and 40 percent from three-point range (10-25) and made six of just eight free throws on the evening.
 
With the win, Pacific improved to 11-6 on the season, 4-4 NWC.  Linfield dropped to 2-15 overall, 0-8 NWC.
 
A low-scoring start to the game gave way to solid Pacific offense.  The contest was tied 7-7 at the 12:28 mark when Pacific went on a slow 6-0 run, going up 13-7 on a Zitani lay-in with 8:51 to go.  After Brill connected on the Boxers' next possession, Jordan Batey (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) hit a three-pointer to open a 9-2 run that put the Boxers up 23-12.
 
Linfield came back to within six on Jackson Gion's three-pointer with 2:34 left before Pacific closed the half on an 8-1 run to go into halftime with a 36-23 lead.
 
Wettig hit a three-pointer with just seconds gone in the second half, giving Pacific their biggest lead of 16 points, 39-23.  Linfield spent the rest of half chipping away at the advantage, shooting 51.9 percent from the field in the period.  The Wildcats were within five on Ryan Potter's lay-in with 2:47 to go and Brill made it a 59-56 game with 1:13 left.
 
Linfield then found themselves trading fouls for possessions as they went 0 for 3 from the field the rest of the way.  Pacific put the game away by making 6 of 8 from the free throw line.
 
Pacific will open the second half of the NWC on the tough eastern Washington trip.  The Boxers will play on Friday at Whitman at 8 p.m., followed by a Saturday match-up at Whitworth with a 6 p.m. tipoff.  Both games can be heard live via an audio webcast at GoBoxers.com.
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