VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4] ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 07:39:45 02/08/02 Fri
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Tigers can't shoot, lose
In reply to: Jon Ralston 's message, "Demetrius Jackson" on 07:33:07 02/07/02 Thu

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally Published Friday, February 8, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Road kill again

Tigers fall in Santa Barbara

By Bob Highfill

Record Staff Writer

SANTA BARBARA -- The road woes continue.

The University of the Pacific has played like a different team away from Spanos Center this season, especially in the Big West Conference.

Thursday night, the Tigers shot poorly from the floor and free-throw line and fell to 1-5 in conference away from home with a 70-57 loss to UC Santa Barbara in front of 1,737 at The Thunderdome.

The loss dropped the Tigers (14-7, 6-5 Big West) two spots into sixth place with Cal Poly (13-7, 7-5) coming up at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

"(The Gauchos) played very well, and I knew they would," Pacific coach Bob Thomason said. "They were coming off two losses (on the road), and (UC Santa Barbara coach) Bob (Williams) was raising Cain with them."

The Gauchos (13-8, 7-5) haven't exactly set the conference on fire on the road, either, having lost three of their last four away from home, including a 40-37 decision at Idaho on Saturday in which they shot 28 percent (11-for-38) from the floor. But the Gauchos found their shooting touch often and early against Pacific, scorching the net 11 times on their first 15 attempts.

"We just wanted to come out and be more aggressive and establish ourselves," UC Santa Barbara forward Mark Hull said. "We wanted to get back on track."

The Tigers trailed 27-15 after a 3-point play by Hull, who went on to score 19 points and grab 14 rebounds. Still, Thomason believed his team had a chance to come back.

"We played very well (early), even though the score didn't show it," Thomason said. "We didn't hit some shots, and that put us in a hole, and then we became a little tentative."

Pacific went into the locker room trailing 46-33.

In the second half, junior forward Eli Nolan made a 3-point shot, one of three for the Tigers in 22 attempts. UC Santa Barbara maintained at least a double-digit lead before Pacific went on a 10-2 run to close within 57-52 with 6:51 left.

The Tigers had the momentum, and UC Santa Barbara coach Bob Williams called a time out.

"I thought we had a shot," Thomason said.

But the next several possessions proved to be critical.

First, Hull found an opening at the top of the key and sank a 3-pointer to make it 60-52. The Tigers then worked the ball to Nolan, who found an opening along the right baseline. But his shot was blocked, and UC Santa Barbara gained possession. Jacoby Atako then made two free throws after being fouled by Maurice McLemore.

The Tigers stopped the Gauchos on the next two possessions, but David Bunts and Demetrius Jackson missed open jumpers, and the Gauchos held on for their seventh win over Pacific in their last eight regular-season meetings.

Pacific was ranked 14th nationally in free-throw percentage (75.3 percent) but made only 10-of-19 (52 percent) Thursday. The Tigers' 13.6-percent mark (3-for-22) from 3-point range was its worst this season.

"One thing I was proud of (with) our kids was the way they kept fighting with the ball not going in," Thomason said.

The Tigers' next opponent, Cal Poly, is 9-1 at home this season.

* To reach reporter Bob Highfill, phone 546-8299 or e-mail bhighfil@recordnet.com

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.