Box Score

SALEM, Ore. – After keeping a low profile in the first half, Pacific's top scorers came alive in the second half and overtime Friday night as Pacific came back for a 97-96 over Willamette in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Cone Field House.
 
The Boxers trailed by as much as 13 early in the opening period before cutting the Bearcats' lead to four at halftime.  Colin Wester (Sr., Sherwood, Ore.) and Danny Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) paced the Boxers from that point, combining to score 32 points over the final 25 minutes.  Pacific outscored the Bearcats 9-2 over the first three minutes of the overtime period to build a seven-point lead and then made four free throws in the final eight seconds to secure the win.
 
Wester led the Boxers with 28 points, 14 of those in the second half and overtime, on 10 of 22 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line.  Brakebush scored 18 of his 22 points in the final periods as he made 8 of 20 from the field, including three three-pointers.  Dustin Bowser (Sr., Bellingham, Wash.) came off the bench to score 17 points to go along with nine rebounds and two blocks.
 
Pacific shot just 39 percent from the field for the game (32-82), but converted 28 of 37 opportunities from the free throw line.  The Boxers also forced 22 Willamette turnovers, which resulted in 29 points for the visitors.
 
The efforts by Wester and Brakebush were enough to hold a big night by Terrell Malley, who led Willamette with 32 points on 11 of 24 from the field and 5 of 12 from three-point range.  Alex Brown added 16 points, Oliver Hughes had 12 and Elliot Babcock-Krenk finished with 10.  The Bearcats shot 49.3 percent (34-69) in the loss and outrebounded the Boxers 51-40.  It is only the second time this season that Pacific has been outrebounded in a win.
 
With the victory, Pacific improved to 11-6 overall and moved into third place in the NWC with a 5-3 mark.  It is the first time in five years that the Boxers have hit the 11-win plateau.  Willamette dropped to 7-11, 4-5 NWC.
 
Willamette started the game poised to bury the Boxers early, jumping out to a 15-2 lead on Sean Dart's short-range jumper at the 15:40 mark of the first half.  The Boxers came within five points on three different occasions over the next 10 minutes, but still found themselves down seven points, 33-26, with 6:56 left. 
 
Pacific went on a 10-3 over the next four minutes, tying the game at 36-36 on a pair of Bowser free throws and took a 39-38 lead on aCharles Mosley (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) free throw with 56 seconds left.  Dart and Oliver Hughes combined to score the final five points of the period and sent Willamette into halftime with a 43-39 lead.
 
The Boxers scored the first five points of the second half, going ahead 44-43 on a pair of Wester free throws.  Neither team would lead by more than five points, however, in a half that saw six lead changes and 12 ties.  Willamette held the 84-82 lead when Andrew Beatty (Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.) hit two free throws to the game with 14 seconds left.  Bowser got a steal on the next possession and put Pacific in position to win in regulation, but missed both free throws with three seconds left to send the game to overtime.
 
Pacific opened up overtime on a 9-2 run, limiting the Bearcats to 1 of 4 from the field over the first four minutes.  Coby Proctor (So., Sublimity, Ore.) gave the Boxers their largest lead of the game, 93-86, with his lay-in with 1:49 left.
 
The Boxers would not make another field goal the rest of the game, giving Willamette a chance.  A three-pointer by Hughes brought the Bearcats within one, 93-92, with 12 seconds left.  The Bearcats took their chances sending the Boxers to the free throw line, and Wester andMitch Wettig (So., Bend, Ore.) delivered by making both sets of shots to close it out.
 
Pacific will open the second half of the NWC season at home on Saturday night, facing George Fox for the second time this week.  Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.  A live audio and video webcast will be available at GoBoxers.com.