Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Daniel Zitani (Sr., Oakland, Calif.) posted his second 30-point night of the season Saturday night, but the performance was not enough to counter Lewis & Clark's solid three-point shooting as the Pioneers beat the Boxers 72-66 in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
 
Zitani connected on 12 of 24 from the field, including one three-pointer, and made 5 of 8 from the free throw line to go along with seven rebounds and two steals.  It was the senior's biggest point total since a 30-point performance at George Fox on Jan. 11.
 
The effort, however, was not enough to counter another big three-point shooting night for the Pioneers.  L&C shot 9 of 19 from outside the arc, seven of which came in the second half.  The Pioneers finished the night shooting 52 percent from the field (26-50).
 
Jordan Batey (Jr., San Antonio, Texas) was the only other Pacific player score in double figures, connecting for 12 points.  The Boxers finished the night shooting 42.4 percent from the field (25-59), but just 3 of 19 from three-point range and 13 of 19 from the free throw line.  Mitch Wettig (Jr., Bend, Ore.) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Serg Ovchinnikov led Lewis & Clark off the bench with 14 points, connecting on 5 of 9 from the field with four three-pointers.  Kurt Parker added 13 points, Connor Freeberg scored 12 and Randall Jackson finished with 10.  The Pioneers received most of their production from the bench as they outscored the Pacific bench 41-8.
 
With the win, Pacific dropped to 14-9, 7-7 NWC.  Lewis & Clark improved to 15-8, 8-5 NWC.
 
A close start to the game turned Pacific's way later in the first half.  The game was tied 16-16 when Cameron Hayes' (Sr., Milton, Wash.) lay-in at the 11:19 mark sparked a 10-1 run over the next seven minutes.  Zitani closed the run with his jumper with 4:14 left to make it a 26-17 lead.  The Pioneers rallied to come within two on Randall Jackson's lay-in with 1:16 left, but Batey's lay-in on the Boxers' next possession allowed the Boxers the 30-26 halftime lead.
 
Pacific struggled to get their offense going in the second half, seeing the Pioneers tie the game at 34-34 on Qunetin Sim's three-pointer.  The game was still tied at 36-36 when Cammen Roberson's lay-in started a 7-0 run that gave the Pioneers a 43-36 lead with 12:53 to go. 
 
Pacific managed to close to within two points on three occasions over the next five minutes and were within 54-52 when Ovchinnikov hit a three-pointer to start another 7-0 run to give L&C the 61-52 advantage with 4:22 left.
 
Pacific will close out the 2013-14 season with a pair of games next weekend.  The Boxers will celebrate Spirit Night and Senior Night with a home game Friday against Linfield.  Pacific closes the season at Puget Sound on Saturday.  Tip-off both nights is scheduled for 8 p.m.  Live webcasts of both games will be available at GoBoxers.com.