BOX SCORE
EUGENE, Ore. -- Derek Drews scored a career-high 23 points and tied his career high with five three-pointers, but Pacific defeated Western Michigan, 90-76, in the second game of the 2007 World Vision Invitational at McArthur Court.
Andre Ricks added 14 points off the bench and David Kool had 11 points and three steals for the Broncos (0-1) who lost their eighth straight season opener on the road. The Broncos are now 2-3 in season openers under head coach Steve Hawkins.
The Broncos were down two, 35-33, at halftime, but had an opportunity to take the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Joe Reitz went to the foul line and hit 1-of-2 free throws followed by a Shawntes Gary offensive rebound and Kool missed jumper. Kool missed another jumper on the next possession before a 7-1 run by the Tigers (1-0) gave them a cushion, 42-35.
Pacific eventually built its lead back to 14, 53-39, before Drews made the Broncos first field goal of the second half with 12:38 remaining. During that field goal drought, WMU went 0-of-7 from the field and hit 6-of-11 free throws. Pacific built its lead to double-digits and would never trail by less than 12 the rest of the game.
The Broncos never led as Pacific scored the first five points of the game. WMU achieved its only tie on the next two possessions after a jumper by Kool and Drews three-pointer. The Tigers then staged a 26-12 run over the next 10:29 to build its largest lead of the game, 31-17, to that point.
Western Michigan answered with a 12-0 run to pull back to within two, 33-31, before a pair of Anthony Brown free throws halted the rally. Drews hit a mid-range jumper with 1:14 to go to account for the halftime margin, 35-33. The Broncos had a chance to take the lead into the locker room after forcing a Pacific turnover, but Michael Redell missed a three-pointer with 21 seconds to go.
Redell led WMU with seven assists and Andrew Hershberger pulled down five rebounds.
The Broncos shot 40.7 percent (24-59), while the Tigers hit 58.7 percent (27-46) from the field, including 17-of-22 (.773) in the second half. Pacific also converted on 9-of-14 three-pointers (9-14) and WMU hit 8-of-30 (.267).
Pacific outrebounded WMU, 34-25, but the Broncos nine offensive rebounds accounted for an 8-0 edge in second-chance points. The Broncos also led in points off turnovers, 18-8, with only nine turnovers compared to 16 by UOP.
The Tigers were led by Miami (Ohio) transfer Chad Troyer's 24 points and 17 points and 12 assists from guard Steffan Johnson.
The Broncos are back in action Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET against Pepperdine (0-1) in game three of the World Vision Invitational. The Waves lost to No. 12 Oregon, 100-70, on Saturday night in the tournament.
