WHITTIER, Calif.- The Pacific University men's basketball team won a thriller of a game against Whittier on Saturday afternoon. The Boxers would win the game, 80-79, on a layup from Isaiah Africano (Junior/Pearl City, HI) with one second remaining on the clock.
 
The Boxers (4-6, 0-2 NWC) converted 16-19 (84.2%) from the foul line over the course of the contest.  The 84.2% would be the highest percentage the Boxers have shot in the 2021-22 season this far.
 
Whittier (4-4, 0-2 SCIAC) out rebounded the Boxers 35-27 over the course of the contest. The Poets were just as efficient from the line, shooting 33-40 (82.5%).
 
Jared Cattell (Senior/Bremerton, WA) led the Boxers with 21 points on 8-15 shooting white also shooting 4-9 from behind the arc. Mario Mora (Senior/Bend, OR) contributed 20 of his own with 15 coming from downtown and other five points coming from perfect shooting from the foul line.
 
Ethan Chung (Junior/San Ramon, CA) and Jacob Bolger (Junior/Portland, OR) both recorded 10 points while Chung grabbed six rebounds and Bolger recorded five of his own.
 
How It Happened
 
The Boxers and Poets played a relatively equal first 10 minutes of the contest. With 10:51 remaining in the first half the Boxers and Poets were tied at 24-24. The Poets would rally to take the lead, stretching it to as much as 10 points before heading to the locker leading 44-38.
 
The host Poets would start out the second half hot, sparking a 10-0 run through the first three minutes of the half, stretching their lead to 16. The Boxers, however, would not go away and respond with a 20-4 run to tie the game at 58-58 with 11:35 remaining. The Boxers and Poets would trade buckets until the 1:12 mark when Jordan Kanoe converted a technical free throw for the hosts to extend their lead, 79-75. On the ensuing possession, Jayelen Jones (Sophomore/Oakland, CA) would steal the ball, leading to head coach Justin Lunt's timeout to set up an exciting final sequence. Following the timeout, Cattell would convert a shot from long range with 39 seconds remaining, putting the Boxers down by one. Following a Poet missed layup and out of timeouts, Pacific would use a series of cuts to the paint before Cattell was able to drop it off to Africano who converted the game winning layup in traffic.
 
By The Numbers

• Pacific recorded 12 steals in the game.
• The Boxers recorded 30 points in the paint.
• 12 total Boxers registered minutes in the contest.

 
 
Up Next
 
Pacific will take a day off on Sunday before concluding their three-game road trip with a 1 P.M. matchup against Division II Point Loma.
 
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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