March 1, 2006

Stockton, Calif. - University of the Pacific men's basketball head coach Bob Thomason and senior forward Christian Maraker (Varberg, Sweden) have earned top honors for the Big West Conference from CollegeInsider.com, it was announced today. Thomason was named Coach of the Year, while Maraker earned Player of the Year honors.

Thomason has led the Tigers to a 20-7 overall record, 10-2 in the Big West Conference. Pacific has won 20 or more games for the third consecutive season, a school record. The Tigers are currently in first place in the Big West.

Maraker leads the team in scoring (17.3ppg) and rebounding (8.7rpg), and is first and second in the conference in those categories respectively. He has led the team in scoring 13 times this year and has scored in double figures in 24 of 27 games, including nine games of 20 or more points. He leads the Big West with 13 double-doubles. Maraker is ranked fifth on Pacific's career scoring list, with 1,570 points in his time as a Tiger.

The Tigers host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday (7:00pm) and Cal Poly on Saturday (3:00pm) in the final two games of the 2005-06 regular season. A win in either game will give the Tigers a share of the Big West Conference regular season title, and two wins ensures Pacific of an outright title.