Down 21 points in the first half, the Pacific men's basketball team came all the way back to hand No. 24 Whitworth its first Northwest Conference loss of the season.
Junior
Max Vacco recorded a double-double of 17 points and 14 assists to go along with eight rebounds and six steals to lead the Boxers to an 86-85 win Friday night in front of a lively Stoller Center crowd. The 14 assists is tied for the most in a single game as Vacco joins
Lucas Winkler in the Pacific record book.
Whitworth raced out to a 13-0 lead before
Anthony Hrboka scored Pacific's first points on a jump shot with 16:08 remaining in the first half. The Pirates led by 19 points, 46-27, with 2:47 to go. But Pacific closed the first half on a 12-0 run to get back in the game.
Hrboka, who finished with 26 points to lead all scorers, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game at 49-49 with 17:26 remaining. A
Jett Birdsall 3-pointer gave the Boxers their first lead of the game, 56-55, with 15:17 to go.
Tied at 64-64, Whitworth went on a 13-2 run to take 77-66 lead with 5:03 remaining. But Pacific kept fighting. Down four points with 41 seconds to go, Vacco stole the Whitworth inbound pass and drove to the rim for a 3-point play.
After getting the defensive rebound on a Whitworth missed 3-pointer, Vacco found
Brody Baumgartner on a fast break for the go-ahead layup with 12 seconds remaining. The Pirates then missed a jump shot at the buzzer and the Pacific student section stormed the court to celebrate the come-from-behind victory.
The Boxers took advantage of 26 Whitworth turnovers and made 11 of 21 3-pointers to knock off the Pirates, who entered the night on a nine-game winning streak and were a perfect 8-0 in the NWC.
Next: Pacific improved to 4-6 in conference play and will look to continue the momentum Saturday at home against Whitman at 5 p.m.
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