Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Pacific used another strong scoring performance by Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) and solid free throw shooting to catch Claremont-Mudd-Scripps off-guard Friday night as the Boxers won their home season opener over the Stags, 53-35, in men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
 
Zitani, the reigning Northwest Conference Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week, led Pacific for the fourth time in as many games.  He scored 18 points on 5 of 15 from the field and 7 of 13 from the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks.  Riley Grandinetti (Jr., Murray, Utah) added nine points while Eric Moore (Sr., Salem, Ore.) added seven points.
 
Zitani's performance paced a night that saw the Boxers shoot just 37.2 percent from the field (16-43), but excelled by shooting 15 of 22 from the free throw line.  Claremont, meanwhile, managed just 25 percent from the field (15-60) and made just 1 of 21 three-point attempts. The Stags out-rebounded the Boxers 41-35.
 
Tyler Gaffaney led Claremont (2-1) with 10 points.  Nick Lund added eight to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Neither team shot well in the first half, but the Boxers (2-2) took advantage of the three-point line to build their eventual double-digit lead.  Moore nailed the Boxers' third three-pointer of the stanza to take a 16-7 lead at the 8:56 mark.  The Stags rallied to come within three on Shelby Lane's jumper with 7:02 to go before the Boxers went on an 11-0 run to close the half.  Zitani had seven during the run and Landon Littlefield (So., Henderson, Nev.) had three as the Boxers went into halftime with the 27-13 lead.
 
Claremont came out of the locker room looking to rally, closing with within eight points, 27-19, on Gaffaney's lay-in less than two minutes in.  The Boxers replied with an 8-1 run, going up 37-22 on a pair of Anthony Zerkel (So., Carson, Wash.) free throws with 10:13 to go.
 
The Stags cut the lead to single digits when Remy Pinson's jumper made it a 40-31 lead with 7:08 left and Nick Lund it made it an eight-point game when his jumper made it 41-33.  Claremont scored only once more as the Boxers went on a 12-2 to close the contest.
 
Pacific returns to the court following Thanksgiving break, hosting New Hope Christian on Tues., Dec. 3, at 7 p.m.  A live video webcast of the game will be available at GoBoxers.com.  Claremont completes a two-game Northwest road trip tomorrow at Willamette.