Box Score

SAN ANTONIO – Pacific bounced back from a 15-point deficit to take a short lived lead midway through the second half, but the Boxers could not hold off a torrid shooting night by tournament host Trinity (Texas) Thursday at the Trinity National Invitational at Sams Gymnasium.
 
The Tigers (8-5) connected on 56.5 percent of their shots from the field (25-46) and an impressive 8 of 16 from three-point range.  Pacific, which shot 54 percent the night before against Southwestern (Texas), finished shooting 35.5 percent (18-51) and just 4 of 18 from long range.
 
Marc Eppinger (Fr., Camas, Ore.) led Pacific with 12 points off the bench and was the only Boxers' player in double figures.  Leland Devlin (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.) added eighth points while David Berney (Jr., Eugene, Ore.), Charles Mosley (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) and Cameron Hayes (So., Fife, Wash.) each scored seven.
 
Robert Kitzinger and Zach Lambert led four Trinity players in double figures with 16 points.  Ryan Beall added 11 and Heath Hobson scored 10.  Trinity out-rebounded the Boxers 30-23, led by seven boards from Kitzinger.
 
Trinity set the pace on their home floor from the opening tip, going on a 18-4 run over the first seven minutes of the contest.  Kitzinger provided 10 points in the run, including back-to-back three-pointers, while Beall closed the run off with a trey at the 13:09 mark.  Kitzinger added his third three-pointer of the half to give the Tigers their largest lead of the half, 23-8, with 11:58 to go.
 
Pacific went on 7-0 run from that point, thanks in part to back-to-back Devlin three-pointers, allowing the Boxers back within 23-15 midway through the stanza.  The Tigers came back with a 6-0 run of their own, going back up 29-15 on Jonathan Wilt's free throw with 6:51 left.  Pacific wrapped up the period on a 9-3 run, coming within seven on Hayes' jumper with 2:24 left and went into halftime down eight points at 34-26.
 
The Boxers hit their first three shots of the second half to make it a three-point game and finally took their first lead of the game at the 12:17 mark when Hayes' three-point play made it 42-41.  Eppinger added a lay-in on the Boxers' next possession for their biggest lead of the game, 44-41, at the 11:36 mark.
 
The momentum was not to last as the Boxers scored just six more points of the rest of the game.  Lambert completed an 18-2 run with a three-point play that gave Trinity an 11-point lead with 4:35 left.  The Tigers then went on an 11-0 run over the final four minutes to close out the game.
 
Pacific will take the next few days off for Christmas before the next leg of their current four-game road trip, which is Dec. 29 at New Hope Christian in Eugene.