Tigers knock off Waves; league-leading St. Mary’s next

STOCKTON — A Pacific men’s basketball team that was once considered undermanned and overmatched is not only winning games, but learning to finish them with authority.

And junior guard Roberto “Bertie” Gallinat has taken a leading role in the Tigers’ rise.

Gallinat scored 10 points in a row for Pacific in the final few minutes, delivering the dagger with a falling-down, four-point play as the Tigers beat the Pepperdine Waves 92-78 in a West Coast Conference game Thursday at Spanos Center.

With the Tigers (10-10, 5-2) up 10 with less than two minutes remaining, Gallinat hoisted up a 3-point try and was knocked to the ground. As the shot trickled in, Gallinat, swung his body upward into a fist…