Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Danny Brakebush (So., Portland, Ore.) rolled in his second game back Sunday, pouring in 33 points as Pacific picked up their first win of the season, a 56-47 decision over Caltech, in men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
 
Brakebush hit on 6 of 14 from the field, including four three-pointers, but did his most damage from the free throw line as he connected on 17 of 19 to finish just one short of the school record of 18 set by Scott Nehring in 1978.  In his two games, Brakebush has made 27 of 30 from the charity stripe.
 
The performance by the sophomore made the difference as the Boxers (1-2) experienced another sluggish shooting night, connecting on 35.1 percent from the field (13-37).  Pacific went 7 of 18 from three-point range and 23 of 31 from the free throw line.  Mitch Wettig (Sr., Bend, Ore.) complemented Brakebush's performance with 10 points, six rebounds and five sreals.
 
KC Emezie led a much-improved Caltech squad (0-4) with 13 points on 5 of 8 from the field.  Andrew Hogue added 10 points to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.  The Beavers shot 35.2 percent from the field (19-54) and out-rebounded the Boxers 34-28.
 
Pacific succeeded in setting the early pace of the game, building a seven-point lead on Brakebush's first three-pointer and going up 12-2 on a three by Riley Grandinetti (Sr., Murray, Utah) at the 14:13 mark.  DeVon Pouncey's (Jr., Vallejo, Calif.) lay-in with 12:16 to go provided the Boxers with their biggest lead of the game, 16-2, and ended a 16-2 run to open the game.
 
Caltech stayed with the Boxers and slowly chipped away at the lead for the rest of the half.  Hogue pulled the deficit into single digits when his jumper with 6:26 left made it a 23-14 game and a three-pointer by Bryan Joel with 30 seconds to allowed the Beavers to come within 27-23 at the break.
 
The Beavers opened the second half by tying the game at 28-28 on Nasser Al-Reyes' lay-in two minutes into the period before the Boxers went on a 9-2 run, which culminated on two Brakebush free throws, that put the Boxers up 37-30 with 14:03 to go.  Caltech then proceeded to put a scare into the Boxers, cutting the lead to within one on Emezie's lay-in with 9:43 left and took a 42-41 lead on Hogue's lay-in with seven minutes left.
 
Pacific responded by scoring five of the next six points, going up 47-42 on a pair of Brakebush free throws before Caltech came back to tie the game at 47-47 on another Emezie lay-in.  Pacific closed the game on a 9-0 run, seven of which came off the hot hand of Brakebush.
 
After playing their first three games at home, Pacific will now be on the road for the next month.  The Boxers will play in Honolulu, Hawaii, following Thanksgiving, playing Cal Lutheran on Friday and Luther on Saturday.  Pacific returns home on Tues., Dec. 23, hosting Cornell (Iowa).  Caltech returns home after a three-game Northwest trip and will host Whitworth on Saturday.