Box Score

CHENEY, Wash. – Mitch Wettig's (Jr., Bend, Ore.) 18 points on a near perfect shooting performance led Pacific in their opener to the 2013-14 men's basketball season Sunday as the Boxers took an 87-58 exhibition loss to Division I Eastern Washington at Reese Court.
 
Wettig connected on 7 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from three-point range to go along with four rebounds.  The junior led an opening effort that saw the Boxers connect on 46.3 percent from the field (25-54).
 
Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) finished with 16 points while Landon Littlefield (So., Henderson, Nev.) came off the bench for 11 points and four assists in his Pacific debut.
 
Eastern Washington, NCAA Division I members of the Big Sky Conference, never trailed in the contest as they finished shooting 57.4 percent from the field (35-61) and outrebounded the Boxers 38-21.  The Eagles are coached by former Whitworth head coach Jim Hayford.
 
Venky Jois led the Eagles with 22 points and 11 rebounds, hitting on 10 of 13 from the field, to go along with five assists, three steals and three blocks.  Parker Kelly added 15 points and Drew Brandon scored 14 as all five Eastern starters finished in double figures.
 
It took just six minutes for the Eagles to open up a double-digit lead, but they would never be able to completely shake the Boxers in the first half.  Kelly connected on the Eagles' third three-pointer of the game to take the 18-8 lead, and Ognjen Miljkovic hit a lay-in with 7:11 to go to open their biggest advantage, 33-18.
 
The lead was 35-20 when Riley Grandinetti (Jr., Murray, Utah) canned a three-pointer to start a 7-0 run that cut the lead to single digits.  Littlefield closed the rally with his jumper at the 2:26 mark to make it a 35-27 lead, but the Eagles closed the stanza with their own 7-0 run to take a 42-27 lead at the half.
 
Wettig scored the first five points of the second half to bring the Boxers within 42-32, but the Eagles stayed strong and opened up an 18-point advantage, 61-43, on Jois' lay-in at the 13:10 mark.  Pacific was within 14 points with 9:32 left before Eastern closed the game with a 22-7 run.
 
Pacific will officially open the 2013-14 season on the road on Nov. 15, traveling to Southern California to face La Verne.