Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Bobby Ahern (Jr., Madras, Ore.), Riley Grandinetti (Sr., Murray, Utah) and Marc Eppinger (Jr., Camas, Wash.) all turned in 12-point performances to lead Pacific to their fourth straight victory Tuesday, beating Cornell (Iowa) 64-54 in men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
 
Ahern established a new career high with his 12 points, nine of which came from three-point range, to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.  Grandinetti scored all of from three-point range, which included a pair of treys down the stretch that sealed the victory.  Eppinger came off the bench for his 12, which included all eight of the Boxers' made free throws.
 
The trio led a night that saw the Boxers shoot 43 percent from the field (22-51) and 46 percent from three-point range (12-26).  Mitch Wettig (Sr., Bend, Ore.) led Pacific boards with 10 as the Boxers were outrebounded by Cornell 34-31.
 
With the victory, Pacific (5-3) extended their current win streak to four games.  They have yet to lose during the month of December.
 
Corey Davis led Cornell (2-8) with a game-high 22 points to go along with seven rebounds.  He connected on 8 of 19 from the field.  Tabari Carter added nine points as the Rams connected on 37 percent from the field (19-51).
 
Both teams shot 52 percent from the field in the first half while the Boxers surged from three-point line, making 8 of 15 in the stanza.    Pacific jumped out to the early 13-8 lead on Skyler Burgess' (Jr., Riverton, Utah) lay-in four minutes into the period.  The Rams came right back to the game at 15-15 of a Davis lay-in. 
 
Pacific held a 22-21 lead with 9:16 to go when a three-pointer by Ahern sparked an 11-2, culminating on Coby Proctor's (Sr., Sublimity, Ore.) three-pointer with 4:39 left for a 33-23 Pacific lead.  Cornell finished the half making four of the final five shots, with Davis' lay-in with three seconds left bringing the Rams within 38-33 at the half.
 
The Boxers scored the first five points of the second half, taking their biggest lead of 12 points, 45-33, on Burgess's steal and lay-up at the 17:12 mark.  Cornell responded with a six-point run of their own to cut the lead to six, but a three by Wettig and two Eppinger free throws brought the lead back to 11 points, 50-39, with 13:09 to go. 
 
Cornell took advantage of cool Pacific shooting to bring the game within five points, 52-46, on a pair of Dylan Murdock free throws with 10:06 to go and kept the game within single digits until late.  The lead was 56-54 with three minutes left when Grandinetti hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to close out the game.
 
Pacific returns to action on Monday, traveling to northwest Portland to face Portland Bible at 7 p.m.  Cornell returns home for a long holiday break and will not take the court again until Jan. 3 against St. Norbert.