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Date Posted: 09:26:42 03/04/02 Mon
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Tigers defeat Vandals

Originally Published Monday, March 4, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tourney time is near

Senior-day win a tune-up for Big West tournament

By Bob Highfill

Record Staff Writer

Any doubts senior day might cause the University of the Pacific to play below its capability were quickly erased on Sunday.

Moments after Pacific's eight seniors were introduced to the Spanos Center crowd for the final time, the Tigers took the floor and made seven of their first nine shots and went on to beat Idaho 57-49 in front of 3,052 spectators.

"There were a lot of emotions," senior forward Mike Hahn said. "(Assistant coach) Ron Verlin talked to the seniors last week and told us to prepare ourselves. I did that and tried to fight off the tears. A lot of things went through my mind, but we just tried to take care of business."

The Tigers (19-7, 11-7 Big West) finished the regular season in a three-way tie for third place with UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge. They will take the No. 4 seed to the Big West Tournament and play the fifth-seeded Matadors (12-15, 11-7) at noon on Thursday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

UC Santa Barbara (17-10, 11-7) earned the third seed with the better head-to-head record (3-1) in conference games against the Tigers and Matadors. Pacific was 2-2 against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Northridge, and the Matadors were 1-3 against the Tigers and Gauchos.

UC Santa Barbara will play No. 6 Cal Poly at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Utah State, the No. 1 seed, will play No. 8 Idaho at 2:30, and No. 2 UC Irvine will take on No. 7 Long Beach State at 6 p.m.

Pacific and Idaho knew before tipoff who their first-round opponent was, thanks to Cal State Northridge's upset win over Utah State on Saturday. Had the Aggies won, the Tigers' victory on Sunday would have given them the third seed and they would have played Cal Poly in the first round.

"(Cal Poly has) been playing pretty well, though (it) lost to Fullerton on Saturday," Pacific coach Bob Thomason said. "They're not a super-quick team, but Cal State Northridge, you know they're going to come at you with all their guns. If you're aggressive and tough, there will be a lot of opportunities to score, but if you're tentative, they can cause turnovers and take over."

The Matadors forced 24 turnovers and dominated the glass (42-23) when they beat the Tigers 70-59 on Jan. 5 in Northridge. Pacific took revenge, 74-58, on Jan. 31 at Spanos Center when guards Demetrius Jackson and Maurice McLemore combined for 39 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and the Tigers nearly cut their turnovers in half with 14.

"Northridge is a physical team and we're going to have to be physical with them," said Jackson, who scored a game-high 20 points on Sunday and had 25 against the Matadors at Spanos Center. "We underestimated their talent and physical ability when we lost to them."

McLemore expects a tough game.

"We know we can beat them and they know they can beat us," the senior from Suisun City said. "We match up well. They have good guards, we have good guards. They have good inside players, and so do we. It's going to be a fight."

The Tigers came out fighting to start both halves on Sunday, then cooled off. Pacific scored 20 of the game's first 26 points, made a 13-2 run after intermission and led by 20 points midway through the second half. The Vandals made a late charge, but the margin of victory, eight points, was as close as they came.

"There's a lot of fight left in our team," said Idaho's first-year head coach Leonard Perry. "If you told me the No. 8 seed won three games and took the Big West Tournament, I wouldn't be surprised."

Pacific was the fifth seed last year and reached the championship game with Utah State.

Senior guard Jono Metzger-Jones made his 100th career 3-pointer late in the game and is only the seventh player in Pacific history to do so. Forward Eli Nolan sprained his left ankle and didn't play in the second half. His status for the Big West Tournament is uncertain. Jackson took a knee to the ribs and went to the floor briefly in the second half. He returned and should be ready on Thursday.

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

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