Box Score

SALEM, Ore. – After two quiet nights against the eastern Washington schools, Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) roared back to life for Pacific Tuesday to lead the Boxers past Willamette, 56-48, in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at Cone Field House.
 
Zitani finished with a game-high 25 points, connecting on 10 of 18 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free throw line, to go along with nine rebounds.  He led the charge in a second half that saw the Boxers shooting 50 percent from the field after having made just 26.5 percent of their shots in the opening period.
 
While Zitani provided much of the scoring muscle, the heroics came from the free throw shooters as the game proved close late.  The Boxers made 6 of 8 in the final two minutes, including four straight by Budweiser Hawkins (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev.). 
 
Hawkins added 10 points as the Boxers shot 36.2 percent from the field for the game (21-58) and 80 percent from the charity stripe (12-15).  The Bearcats were successful in limiting the Boxers from outside as they hit just 2 of 16 three-point attempts.
 
With the win, Pacific improved to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in NWC play.  The Boxers have now won eight of their last nine games.  Willamette fell to 2-10, 0-3 NWC.
 
Alex Brown led the Bearcats off the bench with 14 points, connecting on 5 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.  Talanoa Smith was the only Willamette starter in double figures, scoring 10.
 
Both teams struggled at the outset as they combined for just 16 points over the first 10 minutes of the contest.  The Boxers built their biggest first half lead of four points, 17-13, on a Zitani lay-up at the 5:47 mark.  Willamette eventually tied the game at 17-17 on Brown's lay-in with 1:44 left before a pair of Zitani free throws sent Pacific into halftime with the narrow 21-19 lead.
 
Willamette opened the second half by taking a one-point lead, 24-23, on Smith's three-point play, but would never lead again as the Boxers built a cushion over the first seven minutes of the period.  Coby Proctor's (Jr., Sublimity, Ore.) jumper at the 14:51 mark sparked a 9-2 run that allowed Pacific a 36-29 lead with 13 minutes to go.  The Boxers eventually extended that to 10 points on Zitani's three-pointer with 9:11 left.
 
The Bearcats kept clawing their way back in, cutting the Pacific advantage to 47-44 on Avery Manu's three-point play with 1:54 left.  Jordan Batey (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) answered with a three-pointer on the Boxers' next play, forcing the Bearcats to start fouling for possessions.  Pacific responded from the line, making 6 of 8 to seal the victory.
 
After playing three games in five days, Pacific will have a short break before playing the second game of a three-game trip at George Fox on Saturday.  Tip-off in Newberg is scheduled for 8 p.m.  The game can be heard via a live audio webcast at GoBoxers.com.