Record Correspondent
STOCKTON — A large crowd, an early lead and a few emotional buckets at the shot clock buzzer were not nearly enough for Pacific men’s basketball to conquer the top-ranked team in the nation.
The Tigers hosted the vaunted Gonzaga Bulldogs, and after earning multiple leads early in the first half, succumbed to a 25-6 run and trailed 39-20 at intermission. Gonzaga then rolled to an 86-66 win in a nationally-televised West Coast Conference game Thursday at in front of a crowd of 4,644 at Spanos Center.
Rui Hachimura, a 6-foot-8 forward from Japan, powered Gonzaga with a game-high 27 points while senior Roberto “Bertie” Gallinat paced Pacific with 23 points.