By james art 
STOCKTON, CA – In front of a lively home crowd, the Pacific men’s basketball program defeated Jessup 92-65 in the 2024-25 season opener on Monday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
Junior Lamar Washington became the first Tiger (1-0) in school history to record 15 assists in a game. The previous record was 14, set by Dell Demps on January 7, 1991 against UC Irvine. Washington helped the Tigers to 31 assists as a team, their most since Dec. 29, 1994, when they finished with 33 against Cleveland State.
The Tigers outscored the Warriors (0-1) by a 56-24 margin in the paint, while Pacific won its first game with Dave Smart at the helm. The Tigers shot .585 from the floor and limited Jessup to .323.
I shine in my debut as Tiger was a senior Elias Ralph who scored a career-high 30 points. He was 13-of-15 from the floor and also recorded five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Ralph was one of 11 newcomers who took the floor for the first time for the Pacific. It included a sophomore Elijah Fisher who collected 15 points and a sophomore Jazz Gardner who totaled eight points and nine rebounds.
The Tigers hit 10 3-pointers and shot .435 from long range. Juniors Jefferson Coulibaly and Seth Jones each hit a trio of shots from long range while Sr Petar Krivokapich drain a pair.
Pacific limited Jessup’s rushing squad to 65 points after the Warriors averaged 80 points per game last year. Jessup was led by Ja’Maris Blackmon’s 22 points.
Pacific took control of the game midway through the first half as Ralph put the game up 27-19 at the 9:49 mark. The Tigers made it 36-22 on a 3-pointer by Koulibaly with 4:39 left. Pacific led 43-26 at the break after a layup by the senior Burke Smith.
After Jessup cut it to 54-41 early in the second, the Tigers responded with a 12-0 run, with Ralph’s bucket making it 66-41 with 11:05 left. Fisher’s basket put Pacific ahead 72-46 with 9:08 left. The biggest lead of the night, 92-64, came on a layup by Ralph with 1:17 left.
The Tigers will then head to Hawaii for a three-game Rainbow Classic. Pacific’s first game is Friday, 7:30 PM (PT) against San Jose State. The team’s next home game is Thursday, Nov. 14, when the team hosts Northern Arizona at 7 p.m.
NOTES
– The attendance of 3,772 was the largest for a Pacific opener since Nov. 18, 2005, when it drew a crowd of 4,371 against Sonoma State.
– Monday was only the second meeting between Pacific and Jessup. The Tigers won the first 70-61 on November 20, 2010.
– The Tigers won their season opener for the first time since 2020-21 when they beat UC Riverside 66-60 at home.
– Ralph became the first Tiger to score 30 points in a game since Kaylan Boone on February 11, 2023 vs. San Diego. He surpassed his previous career high of 25 points set at the University of Victoria last season. It was Ralph’s 61st career game in double figures and 13th with 20+ goals.
– Fisher posted his 17th career double-figure game, which included 16 at DePaul last season.
– Prior to the announcement, there was a moment of silence for Mike Scholl, who died suddenly in July and was entering his first season as an assistant coach. Hired in April, Scholl spent the previous 10 seasons at Long Beach State, including the last six as associate head coach.
Tigers Tickets
Tickets for upcoming events can be purchased through the ticket section of PacificTigers.com or by calling the box office at 209-946-2474. Groups of 10 or more are eligible for a group discount and exclusive fan experiences.
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