FOREST GROVE, Ore. – (From Pacific Sports Information Office) Pacific used a well-rounded offensive effort Saturday to earn an 85-76 over Whitworth Saturday in Northwest Conference men¹s basketball action at the Pacific Athletic Center.

Symes posted 25 points and 10 boards

The Boxers (8-13, 6-6 NWC) won their second game in a row to boost their conference record back to .500. The Pirates (15-6, 8-4 NWC) dropped their third straight conference game. The win broke a seven-game Pacific losing streak to Whitworth dating back to the 2003-04 season.

Garold Howe led all scorers with 27 points and added nine rebounds and led Pacific in scoring for the eighth consecutive game. Donnie Harrison-Davis scored 19 points and Joe Van Domelen added 18 points.

Ryan Symes (Sr., F, Palo Alto, Calif.) had a solid night leading the Pirates, earning a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 14-16 from the free throw line with all of his attempts coming in the second half. Tim Sellereit (Jr., G, Bellingham, Wash.) added 16 points off of the bench and Collin Willemsen (Sr., F, Moraga, Calif.) added 13 points to round out Whitworth¹s offensive leaders.

Pacific shot an impressive 58 percent (26-45) from the field and 50 percent (9-18) from behind the arc. Whitworth shot 38 percent (25-65) and just 21 percent (5-23) from three-point range.

Free throws were also crucial in a game that saw both teams combine for 48 fouls. Both teams took advantage of their chances with Pacific finishing with a 77 percent (24-31) average from the line and Whitworth also shooting 77 percent (21-27) from the charity stripe.

The first half was equally played until the last five minutes of the half when Pacific began to pull away. The Boxers used a 10-0 run, capped by a Van Domelen jumper, for a 35-24 margin with 3:12 remaining. The half ended, however, on a three-pointer from David Riley to put the score at 41-33 with Pacific still ahead.

Whitworth was pushed further away in the second stanza by the Boxers, who built a lead as large as 15 points on two free throws from Harrison-Davis with 11:46 to play.

The Pirates, however, battled back for the next ten minutes and cut the lead to 79-76 with 1:56 left. That would be as close as the Pirates would come to a lead in the second half, though. Howe scored a jumper and added three free throws in the final two minutes to assure the Boxer's of a win.

Whitworth returns home to host Pacific Lutheran on Friday at 8:00 p.m.