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Date Posted: 13:08:57 02/20/02 Wed
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Coach is still not happy

Monday, February 18, 2002
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Coach is still not happy

His voice was coarse and raspy, his brow furrowed. Bob Thomason appeared to be angry after his University of the Pacific basketball team turned in one of its best performances this season in a 73-61 victory over then-conference leading UC Irvine on Saturday at Spanos Center.

The win confirmed what the Tigers' 14th-year head coach has believed all season: His team is too good to be in the middle of the Big West standings. This was supposed to be a special season. Everything was in place for a run at the conference championship.

Instead, the Tigers have had a season comprised of exasperating lows and too few highs. Saturday's performance definitely was a high point, as 11 players contributed to a victory that sent shock waves from the Orange County to Utah.

"I'm still mad, and I will be until the end of the year," Thomason told Dave Rosselli, during Saturday's postgame coach's show. "I'm proud of the kids. I'm happy they bounced back, but I'm trying to get them to do this every night."

Last week served as a microcosm of the conference season and was a glaring example of the inconsistency that has characterized this team and made their coach so upset.

Thursday, the Tigers dropped their first conference game at home this season to Long Beach State. Pacific was pitiful on offense, lazy on defense and indifferent in terms of hustle. The Tigers looked like a team that seemingly resigned itself to a middle or low seed for the conference tournament.

But a completely different team took the floor Saturday. The Tigers played with urgency and intensity. They took the best shots and shoves UC Irvine could dish out, then counterpunched with solid team defense, crisp ball movement on offense and relentlessness on the glass.

Thomason didn't change his scheme. All season, he's asked his players to be unselfish on both ends of the court. The players finally decided enough was enough. They played to their capability and sent the Anteaters home in second place.

"It's not like we played perfect, but our intent and our purpose were better," Thomason said. "Early, we made some mistakes, but after they went ahead 13-4, they didn't score a lot of points."

UC Irvine finished nine points below their season average. The Tigers held Jerry Green and Adam Parada, UC Irvine's top scorers to 19 points, one less than Green's season average. Pacific dominated the boards 38-22 and shot 50 percent from the floor.

The question now is, are the Tigers going to battle this way the remainder of the season and take the conference tournament? Or are they going to revert to their stagnant, poor shooting past? They set a standard Saturday, proving they can beat most any team in the Big West.

"Anybody can do it one night," Thomason said. "You have to do it every night."
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Highfill covers college sports for The Record. Mail: P.O. Box 900, Stockton, CA 95201; Phone: 546-8299; Fax: 547-8187; E-mail: bhighfil@recordnet.com
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