WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Five Pacific men's basketball players scored in double digits, but that wasn't enough to keep up with Whitman as the Boxers fell 92-88 on Friday night in Northwest Conference play.

Pacific junior Anthony Hrboka led all scorers, finishing with 22 points and five assists. Senior Lucas Gray had 20 points and six steals. Junior Max Vacco added 15 points, three assists and five steals. Senior Brody Baumgartner had 11 points, Junior Ryder Mackay flirted with a double-double, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds.

As a team, the Boxers had 16 steals and took advantage of 25 Whitman turnovers. But the Blues shot 63 percent from the field, which included making 14 of 26 3-pointers.

The game had eight ties and 12 lead changes. Pacific led 47-42 at halftime and stretched its advantage to 11 points, 59-48, on a Hrboka layup with 16:07 remaining. However, Whitman tied the game at 70-70 with 9:35 to go and then took its first lead of the second half, 75-72, on a 3-pointer with 8:23 remaining.

After the Blues extended their lead to seven points, 88-81, with 2:07 left to play, Pacific kept battling and Mackay scored in the paint to get the Boxers within 90-88 with 23 seconds to go. But the comeback attempt ended there as Whitman finished off Pacific on a dunk with 9 seconds remaining.

With the loss, Pacific dropped to 1-1 in the NWC and 5-6 overall. 

Next: The Boxers play at Whitworth on Saturday at 5 p.m.

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 Instagram and Twitter.
 
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