Sam Willard News

Pacific forced 21 turnovers and came up with 13 steals Saturday in a 79-49 rout over Sacramento State.

Defense leads Pacific to 79-49 rout Eds: APNewsNow. Pacific 79, Sacramento State 49.

Downtown Stockton was jamming tonight as the California Golden Bears were in town at the Stockton Arena in the first Pacific home game outside of the Spanos Center since 1981.

The final practice before the Stockton Showcase was exactly what coach Bob Thomason wanted it to be.

Sam Willard had 19 points and seven rebounds Saturday night to lead Pacific to a 61-58 victory over Nevada.

Demetrece Young was cool, calm and deadly from the outside in his first start for Pacific.

The magic will be in the air on Tuesday night as the Fresno State Bulldogs return to their old backyard for a special night that will turn back the clock.

The Pacific men's basketball team nearly turned back the clock four decades. The Tigers led for much of Saturday's game at San Jose State, but a late collapse prevented Pacific from having its first 5-0 start in 41 years.

Pacific's fluctuating shooting percentages have garnered great interest through three games, but it remains undefeated because of its defense.

With San Diego State's press giving his team trouble late in the first half on Wednesday night, Pacific coach Bob Thomason inserted sophomore big man Nyika Williams and told him to run the floor.

UC Davis guard Haylee Donaghe had a great time preparing for No. 2 Stanford. Even game day turned out to be a lot of fun despite a 25-point loss.

Sam Willard had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to lead Pacific to an 84-57 blowout over Santa Clara on Sunday in the West Coast Classic.

Terrell Smith's game is slowly blossoming. The junior guard has been Pacific's most consistent perimeter performer so far this season, and he will be tested when Santa Clara visits Spanos Center at 5 p.m. today.

GAME NOTES: The Pacific Tigers will try to remain perfect on the year when they take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks as part of the West Coast Classic at Walkup Skydome.

The Pacific men's basketball team has defied logic for 90 minutes this season and now has two victories to show for it.

BKCSan Diego-Pacific,0143 Pacific hangs on to defeat San Diego, 56-55 Eds: APNewsNow.

The strength of the 2009-10 Pacific men's basketball team will be found inside the paint.

For those unlucky enough to be at Spanos Center throughout Saturday evening, it was like reliving the same nightmare twice in four hours.

OUTLOOK: Call it an off year for the Big West Conference in 2008-09 as only four teams boasted overall winning records, with Cal State Northridge the league's lone representative in the NCAA Tournament.

Junior forward Sam Willard scored 11 points and came down with 14 rebounds for a double-double as the Pacific men's basketball team opened its 2009-10 campaign with an 89-52 exhibition win over Division II Cal State Monterey Bay before 2,712 fans Sunday at Spanos Center.