Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Pacific did not get many looks at the basket Saturday night, but they made the most of every chance they had as the Boxers set a school single game record for field goal shooting to beat La Verne, 66-58, in the men's basketball home opener at the Stoller Center.
 
The Boxers shot 69.2 percent from the field, making 27 of 39 shots on the evening.  That bettered the record of 68.9 percent from the field the Boxers set against Whitman on Jan. 24, 1987.  Pacific connected on 13 of 22 in the opening half before shooting 82.4 percent in the final 20 minutes, making 14 of just 17 shots taken.  The Boxers also finished the night making 5 of 9 shots from three-point range.
 
The victory improved Pacific to 1-1 on the season, while the Leopards of the Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, dropped to 1-1.
 
Charles Mosley (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) came off the bench to lead the Boxers with 21 points and eight rebounds.  Daniel Zitani (Jr., Oakland, Calif.) added 15 points in his first Pacific start while Colin Wester (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) scored 14 to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.  Pacific outrebounded the Leopards 31-24.
 
Alonzo Young led La Verne with 15 points on 6 of 16 from the field.  Jourdan Simmonds added 14 points while Alex Wolpe led the Leopards with four rebounds.  The Leopards' aggressive pressing defense kept them in the game by forcing 28 Pacific turnovers.
 
In the first half, however, it was the Leopards who were taking better advantage of their looks at the hoop.  The Leopards jumped out to a 15-9 lead at the 14:30 mark on a jumper by Young, but the Boxers rallied behind seven straight points from Mosley to tie things at 16-16 midway through the period.
 
The game remained close for the next four minutes until Zitani's short-range jumper with 6:44 left sparked a 10-1 Pacific run that closed the half.  Mosley contributed four points in the rally, including the last bucket of the half with 38 seconds left that gave the Boxers a 29-22 halftime edge.
 
Pacific's excellent second half shooting appeared to be enough to put the game away early in the second half.  The Boxers pulled away from a 29-27 lead with a 10-0 run, culminating on another Mosley bucket at the 15:10 mark.  The Leopards reduced the advantage to nine points on Wolpe's free throw with 12:44 left before another 9-1 run gave Pacific their biggest lead of the game, 50-33, with 9:50 left.
 
La Verne's pressure defense made things interesting down the stretch with the Leopards forcing 10 Pacific turnovers in the final 10 minutes.  The Boxers continued to own a 14-point lead on Mosley's lay-in with 3:11 to go, but that defense made it a game again quickly.  A pair of Veith free throws on La Verne's next possession, starting a 13-3 run that brought the Leopards with three, 61-58 with 1:16 left.  Pacific iced the game on Wester's trey on their next possession as La Verne followed with two straight misses from long range.
 
Pacific returns to action next weekend as they enjoy a pair of games in the Hawaiian sunshine.  The Boxers play Whittier on Friday at 3 p.m. (HST) and Cal Lutheran on Saturday at 1 p.m. (HST).  Both games will be played at Kalani High School in Honolulu.  La Verne will take the Thanksgiving week off, returning to action on Wed., Nov. 28 at Whittier.