Box Score

PORTLAND – An early run over the first five minutes of the game was not enough for Pacific Friday night as Lewis & Clark used a late first half run to build the cushion needed for a 63-55 victory over the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Pamplin Sports Center.
 
The Boxers (9-5, 2-3 NWC) outscored the Pioneers 12-2 in the early going, but L&C rebounded to tie the game before embarking on a 17-2 run of their own to close out the first half and take a 34-26 halftime lead.  The margin held as Pacific came no closer than four points in the second half.
 
Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) led all scorers with 20 points, connecting on 9 of 14 from the field to go along with three rebounds and two blocks.  Jordan Batey (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) came off the bench to score 10 points.  Pacific finished the night shooting 40.4 percent from the field (21-52), but made just 5 of 23 from three-point range and 8 of 17 at the free throw line.
 
Connor Freeberg led Lewis & Clark (11-3, 4-1 NWC) with 18 points, connecting on 8 of 15 from the field.  Quentin Sims added 12 points.  Jason Luhnow pulled down eight rebounds as the Pioneers held a 43-33 advantage on the glass.  L&C finished the night shooting 37.5 percent from the field (21-56).
 
Pacific felt the hot hand early on as Mitch Wettig's (Jr., Bend, Ore.) three-pointer started a 12-2 run over the opening four minutes.  The Pioneers responded with a 10-0 run of their own, tying the game at 12-12 on Kurt Parker's three-pointer at the 11:55 mark.
 
The Boxers added another 7-0 run in response, this one ending on Eric Moore's (Sr., Salem, Ore.) lay-in at the midway point of the period.   The Pacific lead was 24-17 when Serg Ovchinnikov's three-pointer with 8:08 left ignited a 17-2 run that closed the half.  Pacific went suddenly cold, scoring just two free throws in the final 8:22 as the Pioneers took a 34-26 lead into halftime.
 
Lewis & Clark attempted to blow the game open early in the second half, using Luhnow's three-pointer with 15:59 left to build a 43-31 lead.  Pacific connected on four of their next five shots from the field, culminating on Moore's lay-in with 10:58 left, that brought the Boxers within 43-40. 
 
L&C extended the lead back to 10 points on Freeberg's lay-in with 6:25 left, only to see the Boxers come back to within four points on a trio of Zitani baskets.  Lewis & Clark put the game away from there, going on a 9-2 over the next five minutes to build an 11-point advantage with a minute left.
 
Friday's game concluded a three-game road trip for the Boxers.  They return home to the Stoller Center on Saturday to host Pacific Lutheran at 8 p.m.  Live audio and video webcasts of the game will be available at GoBoxers.com.