Washington lifts Tigers to tight victory
Pacific tightens grip on #10 seed
6’4” Lamar Washington’s lay-in with 12 seconds remaining was the difference as the Tigers captured their third win in WCC play with a tight 71-69 victory over visiting San Diego. The game see-sawed in the final 15 minutes of play with several thrill…er… “KenPom 300+ Bowl”-esque plays that included turnovers, bad fouls, offensive rebounds and a Toreros parade to the foul line late. But with the score tied, Lamar got a switch at the top and attacked it - curious as to why Coach Steve Lavin didn’t send a second defender earlier, but I digress - and once again proved clutch for Pacific down the stretch.
Tigers got a solid all-around performance off the bench from previously little-used 6’2” Seth Jones (19 minutes) who, after messing up an easy defensive switch that led to an open San Diego three on his very first possession in the game, became a catalyst defensively and as importantly knocked down a very large three to give Pacific a 64-63 lead late. Earlier, Jones found 6’4” Petar Krivokapic in the right pocket with a slick look and Petar knocked in another important three. Jones actively and effectively denied first passes and was active defensively throughout his time on the floor.
Seth’s play at both ends at key points in the second half allowed Coach Smart to rest both Washington and 6’7” Elias Ralph during a key five-minute stretch midway through the second half when the Tigers actually took the lead with their two most productive players sitting.
7’0” Jazz Gardner was active at both ends with much more energy although Jazz struggled when given an opportunity to work with the ball and his back to the basket offensively. Still, he did get free in transition and on the “o” glass in what was a reasonably sound effort.
San Diego looked to run away in the first half, leading by as many as 9 by pounding it inside early until 6’11” Steven Jamerson II sat with his second foul. Unlike most of this season, the Tigers did get some easier transition scores early, but Pacific’s transition “d” was not good also leaving wide open San Diego three-point shooters (6-10 threes in the first half). The Tigers did parlay some better defensive possessions into a mini 8-2 run to end the half with Ralph scoring four straight including a tough turnaround with the shot clock winding down to trail by just two at the half.
Coach Smart started Krivokapic over 6’3” Jefferson Koulibaly who did get time and was his inconsistent self on the defensive end: giving up an easy put back without much battle and allowing Toreros 5’11” Joey Chammaa to drive right by him to the rim for an easy lay-up. But Jefferson was key handling the ball and keeping the offense flowing during that key stretch when both Washington and Ralph sat midway through the second.
Washington started slowly with three early turnovers but made two big three-point shots to keep it close in the first half. Pacific began doubling the post but the resulting rotations were sloppy allowing open 3’s, one of the key reasons for Toreros hot shooting from downtown before halftime. Pacific did clean this up after halftime: San Diego was 0-6 from downtown in the final 20 minutes.
Ralph appeared a step slower as San Diego paid much more attention to him defensively, lacking his usual energy around the rim; Ralph also air balled a wide open 3 finishing with just 9 points in 28 minutes.
A sloppy, non-descript (outside of Lamar’s late heroics) victory for the Tigers but “we will take it” as they say. Three WCC league wins are three more than last season with a challenging schedule remaining that includes a three-game road swing through LMU, Oregon State and San Francisco - the Dons came back from a second-half, double-digit deficit to hand Saint Mary’s their first WCC loss of the season last night.
Gonzaga comes to town on Saturday in a 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET start at the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Zags (17-7, 8-3 in WCC) uncharacteristically sit in third place in the WCC standings after a twenty-point victory at home in Spokane last night over Loyola Marymount.