Idaho’s Late Rally Falls Short; Olowokandi, Pacific Advance

Michael Olowokandi scored 13 of his 22 points in the second half, and Pacific withstood a late rally to beat Idaho, 82-74, Friday night in the first round of the Big West tournament.

Adam Jacobsen scored 17 points, including three three-pointers in the second half, and Rayne Mahaffey had 15 for Pacific (22-8), seeking to defend its Big West tournament championship.

The Tigers, winners of 15 straight, advanced to today’s semifinal against Nevada, an 81-72 winner over UC Irvine.

Avery Curry’s 23 points led Idaho (15-12), the fourth-seeded team n the Big West’s Eastern division. Kris Baumann added 17 points and Clifford Gray had 12.

Pacific, the top-seeded team in the Western division, led by 14 points with 7:18 left but had to weather a furious comeback by Idaho, which put together an 11-0 run to pull to 70-65 with four minutes remaining.