SAN DIMAS, Calif. --- The Park University Gilbert men's basketball team (10-16, 4-10) defeated the Life Pacific University Warriors (12-15, 3-11) by a score of 80-72, Thursday night on the road at Mehl Court in San Dimas, Calif.
For the second straight year, the Buccaneers complete the season sweep of the Warriors. Park-Gilbert and Life Pacific University have met four times over the past two seasons, with the Bucs moving to 4-0 all-time in head-to-head meetings.
Park-Gilbert was led by a career-high 31 points from guard Tanner Pate. He played all but one minute, knocking down 7 of 12 three-pointers and shooting 60% from the field. Pate, in just two seasons with the Buccaneers, has already reached the second-most career points in program history with 637 points.
The first half of this contest saw the Warriors take a two-point lead into the halftime break. Life Pacific was up 23-10 with 11 minutes remaining, but Park-Gilbert responded with a run of its own to close out the half. Pate had 16 points through the first 20 minutes of play.
In the second half, LPU jumped out to another double-digit lead with 16 minutes to go, but Park was able to bring the lead down to two seven minutes later. Pate hit a jumper to put the Bucs up one with six minutes remaining, a lead they never gave up as the final minutes progressed.
Three other Bucs logged double-digit points Thursday night. Guard Mahlik Lindsey scored 19 points, pulling down 3 rebounds and dishing out three assists. Guard Toate Sika recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Luke Olmstead scored 11 points as he shot 3-3 from the field, 2-2 from downtown, and 3-4 from the free-throw line.
Overall, Park-Gilbert shot 42% from the field and 36% from three-point land while Life Pacific shot 40% and 25% respectively.
The Buccaneers return to the court this Thursday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. MST, when they host the Hope International University Royals back home at Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, Ariz. Hope International came in ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Top 25 released on Wednesday. The last time these teams met on Jan. 24, Park-Gilbert set its program single-game scoring record with 117 points in a three-point overtime loss.
