March 12, 2009

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Pacific fought off a UC Davis rally and went on to defeat the Aggies, 67-60, Thursday night in a Big West Tournament quarterfinal at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Tigers led by as much as 11 points, but the Aggies eventually tied the game with seven minutes to. A late surge by Pacific and 17 points from Bryan LeDuc helped propel the Tigers to Friday's semifinals.

Dominic Calegari also scored 17 to lead UC Davis, which finished its season with a record of 13-19. Joe Harden was the other Aggie in double figures with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Pacific led 18-16 before pushing the lead to 27-16 with 7:14 left in the half after three consecutive treys. The Aggies responded with a 12-2 run to close the half and trailed 29-28 at the break.

The Tigers opened the second half with an 8-0 run and led 37-28 at the 16:38 mark. They continued to lead 46-39 after a LeDuc layup four minutes later.

UC Davis then put together a 7-0 run. It started with a driving layup by Ryan Silva and continued with a three-pointer by Vince Oliver. Silva made the first of two treys down the stretch to tie the game at 46-46 with just under eight minutes left. Each team traded buckets in the next minute to make it 48-48.

The momentum shifted back to Pacific as the Tigers scored seven consecutive points - all by LeDuc. In fact, LeDuc scored 11 straight Tiger points to help clinch the victory. UC Davis could only get as close as 59-55 with 1:11 left.

Pacific shot 52 percent while holding the Aggies to 47 percent. The Tigers also held a 29-26 advantage on the boards. Sam Willard, who scored 12 points, led Pacific with eight rebounds.

Mark Payne finished with five points, six rebounds and a game-high six assists.

With the win, Pacific advances to face No. 2 Long Beach State in one of Friday's semifinal games.