Pacific stuns Providence, turns attention to Jayhawks

Kansas City, Mo. ? Pacific senior Tom Cockle had plenty of reasons to pull out a big victory over Providence Friday at Kemper Arena.

Not only would a win make Pacific one of the rare Cinderellas in an NCAA Tournament lacking major upsets, but it’d bring Cockle on the doorstep of playing his favorite childhood team.

“Coming out to UOP, I had to not be a KU fan anymore,” said Cockle, a native of Raymond, Neb. “I used to love Kansas.”

He claims his allegiance toward Kansas is faded nowadays, but Cockle undoubtedly will be thrilled by Friday’s events. Not only did Pacific, the No. 12 seed in the St. Louis Regional, beat fifth-seeded Providence, 66-58, but Kansas did its part, too, topping Illinois-Chicago 78-53.

Pacific (25-7) took a 16-15 lead early in the first half and never trailed again. Cockle scored eight of his 11 points in the first half and drilled three three-pointers on the night.

Afterward, Cockle reminisced a little about his favorite childhood team, which he’ll be squaring off against Sunday at Kemper Arena. Tipoff is 3:50 p.m.

“Growing up, watching (Danny) Manning and (Drew) Gooden and all those guys … ” Cockle said. “Ryan Robertson was actually my most memorable player.”

The Tigers’ victory Friday came despite being undersized and despite being unable to contain Ryan Gomes, Providence’s super scorer. Gomes finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds, including the Friars’ last four points that kept them breathing.

Cockle was an adequate weapon for Pacific, but the Tigers’ offense Friday ran through 6-foot-7 junior Guillaume Yango and 6-foot senior Miah Davis.

Providence's Chris Anrin (20) leaps for a rebound above Pacific's Miah Davis. Pacific beat the Friars, 66-58, Friday in Kansas City, Mo., setting up a second-round match with Kansas University.

When Yango wasn’t punishing a much bigger Providence front line on his way to 18 points, Davis was sealing Pacific’s big victory. With 1:32 remaining, Davis hit a huge three-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Pacific a 61-54 lead.

It was the seventh straight point Davis scored for the Tigers.

“We had to tell ourselves it was just another game,” said Davis, the Player of the Year in the Big West Conference who finished with 19 points. “We had to prepare for it, and the coaches got us well prepared for this game, even though we didn’t know a whole lot about Providence.”

It was the 16th straight victory for Pacific. Since losing to St. Joseph’s Dec. 27, the Tigers are 21-1. Their only loss this calendar year was to nationally ranked Utah State in January.

“As long as you believe in yourself, that’s all that matters,” Cockle said. “Even though we didn’t get all the hoopla and whatnot, we were coming in here on a 15-game winning streak.”

Cockle is the lone UOP player from the Midwest. Most of Pacific’s roster hails from California, though three, including Yango, are from Europe.

The Tigers, who last played in the NCAA Tournament in 1997, won their first tournament game since beating Brigham Young in the 1971 West regional. Current UOP coach Bob Thomason was on that ’71 team.

“We’re heading the right way,” Thomason said. “We only have three seniors on our team. We have a chance to continue to be good.”

The Tigers continue Sunday. The victory Friday was big for the program, but a win over the Jayhawks would be monumental for the mid-major school — and unforgettable for one of its players.

“It’ll be fun,” Cockle said. “But once you’re out there, you just gotta take it like another team. You have to get a scouting report, be prepared and focus in on what you’re going to do.”