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Date Posted: 09:41:07 02/24/02 Sun
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Tigers defeat Highlanders
In reply to: Jon Ralston 's message, "Mike Preston Article" on 09:10:51 02/23/02 Sat

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Originally Published Sunday, February 24, 2002
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Tigers feeling no pain after rare road sweep

By Bob Highfill

Record Staff Writer

RIVERSIDE -- Mike Hahn could barely lift his right arm, but he wasn't feeling any pain after Saturday's road finale at UC Riverside.

Hahn injured his right shoulder late in the first half, but it didn't stop him from having a career scoring night. The 6-foot-7 senior forward left the game briefly in the first half after sustaining the injury, then finished with a career-high 24 points to lead University of the Pacific to an 87-75 victory over the Highlanders.

The win moved the Tigers into a three-way tie for third place with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge with two games at home remaining in the regular season, including one on Thursday against conference-leading Utah State.

"Hopefully, it's just bruised," Hahn said after making 10-of-11 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 from the foul line. "Maybe it helped me focus a little more. I had to be smarter, and I used my left hand to rebound and for other things."

Pacific (17-9, 9-7 Big West) also had a big game from guard Maurice McLemore, who scored a season-high 22 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc, and 7-of-8 free throws. Mike Preston (11 points) and Demetrius Jackson (10) also were in double figures, and the Tigers finished with their highest field-goal shooting percentage this season at 62.2 percent.

"Whoever's feeling it, we have to give him the ball," McLemore said. "We have a lot of good players on our team, but we don't have one or two guys who can dominate every night. It's a team effort, and it has to stay that way for this team to be successful."

The Tigers, who were 1-6 on the road in conference entering the week, feel a lot better after winning their last two two away from home. It didn't seem to matter to the players or head coach Bob Thomason that they came against the teams with the least to play for, as neither Cal State Fullerton or UC Riverside will participate in the Big West Tournament. The Tigers will gladly take them and move on.

"We'll have a chance to regroup on Monday, then the first-place team comes to our place on Thursday," Thomason said. "That'll be a great test for us, but it was nice to win these two."

The Highlanders (8-16, 5-11) are ineligible for the conference tournament as a first-year Division I program, but a raucous, senior night crowd of 1,173 provided plenty of motivation.

Pacific led 54-46 with 12:14 left in the game when UC Riverside went on a 13-0 run. McLemore tipped in an offensive rebound to end the streak, then Hahn went to work on 6-5 forward John Galbreath and scored the Tigers' next 10 points in a 17-3 run that gave them a 71-62 lead with 4:54 remaining.

"I felt good," Hahn said. "I had a lot of shots. We ran a lot of plays for me, and the guards did a good job getting the ball to me. That makes if fun."

Hahn and Preston prevented UC Riverside center Vili Morton from controlling the paint. Morton, who leads the Big West in rebounds with nine per game, had only one of his team's five caroms in the first half. Morton finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes.

"Against a team like this, where they've got four or five post guys that they rotate in and out, it's unfair to ask Vili and John to go 40 minutes against them," said UC Riverside coach John Masi, whose backup center Mike Zepeda suffered a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 31.

Pacific shot 68.2 percent from the floor in the first half, its best shooting half this season, and outrebounded the Highlanders 17-5, but led 38-36 at halftime because it committed 10 turnovers. In the second half, the Tigers showed poise rarely seen on the road, and when they were down by five, they didn't let the game slip away.

"We didn't panic, and we just kept playing," said McLemore, who more and more appears to be the leader of this team. "We knew things would work out, if we kept playing the way we knew we could."

Galbreath led his team with 16 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and 5-of-6 from the line. The Highlanders made 47.3 percent from the field and committed 11 turnovers.

"Going 2-0 on the road is a big change from earlier in the year," McLemore said. "If we win two games on the road, I think we can win three in the Big West Tournament."

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

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